


The Golden Fox and the Magic Marble

by uxiumin



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Curse Breaking, Dragons, Druids, Lots of dialogue, M/M, Mermaids, Slice of Life, Worldbuilding, an excuse to worldbuilding, foxdae, lots of rain and water, mongryong, sehun is a brat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22988359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uxiumin/pseuds/uxiumin
Summary: Haedom, Seom's capital, is known as the city of eternal rains and it's exactly that; an endless grey and wet mess due to a curse the Sun Goddess cast upon the island centuries ago, before a human broke his son's - Chen, the Golden Fox, mighty guardian of the island - heart.Minseok is just a human that lives in Seom that longes for a life under the Sun, and refuses to believe in any fairytales about the rains until he finds himself tangled with the supernatural, including a sad-looking golden fox.
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 31
Kudos: 100
Collections: SnowSpark Fest Round One





	1. Legend wrote in water

**Author's Note:**

> SnowSpark Fest prompt #46
> 
> Hello there, and welcome to another fic I'll use as an excuse to world build a little!
> 
> Now, getting serious for a second, I'll like to thank the prompter in the first place; your prompt was so magical and charming that I couldn't control myself and claimed it as my second entry for the fest! I really hope that this, somehow, looks like what you had envisioned when you sent the prompt!
> 
> Thanks to the mods too! Again you've been super helpful and nice to me! Congrats on a successful fest once again!
> 
> And of course, to [Jazz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzaiko/pseuds/jazzaiko) and [FTS4ever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FTS4ever) for reading my work and giving me the insight I needed. Also, the thousand comments I have on Drive were really funny haha.

The rustling of leaves and tiny whimpers alerted Minseok.

There was someone, or something, in his backyard that night. Expecting a burglar or a neighborhood kid trying to prank him, he stepped outside of his house using the backdoor in the kitchen. Soon, his hair got wet under the feeble drizzle that had been soaking the city for the whole day. It was really dark outside, and the chilly breeze made him want to get back inside as soon as possible, but Minseok kept looking around, determined to find where the sound came from.

Until he found it. It wasn’t a burglar or a kid, much to his relief, it wasn’t even a person. It was a fox.

The animal emitted a few scared sounds, it was clear that he wanted Minseok to go away, but he also looked hurt, trying to hide a bruise on one of his front legs with his furry tail. Minseok crouched down near the fox, trying to ease its mood, approaching the animal in the most non-threatening way possible. Minseok had always had a soft spot for animals, and he wasn’t going to leave the poor injured thing outside at night.

“Calm down” - Minseok whispered to the fox. “I mean no harm, I want to help”. - the only answer he received consisted of grumbles and distressed sounds. “Come on, I have food inside, and you won’t get wet...and I can talk to a veterinarian to have a look at that wound.”

Minseok knew that the fox wasn’t understanding his words, but maybe the animal could understand his voice and gestures and, at some point, trust him a little. He considered as a win the fact that the fox didn’t bite him or ran away when Minseok dared to touch his furry ears, the animal only looked at him with a wary expression. Minseok stood up at some point, startling the fox, he walked inside his kitchen grabbing a plate and some canned dog food. In his kitchen, there is always two or three of these cans stored up in case Baekhyun, and his corgi, Mongryong, decided to come by and spent the night. 

The fox walked slowly, the slight limping wasn’t the only reason, he clearly didn’t trust Minseok enough yet, either way, hunger must be great if the wild animal considered swallowing his pride to get some food from an unknown human. Minseok watched how the brown fox ate all of the food in the plate he left at the threshold. However, brown wouldn’t be the best word to describe the fox’s fur, under his kitchen white lights it gleamed almost golden. Minseok thought that that’s how beach sand must look under the sunlight in summer, but, how could he know that? He has never seen sunlight, or summer without pouring rains and grey skies.

“You must be really special among other foxes” - Minseok said to the fox. “I’ve never seen a fox with your fur color.”

The fox glanced at Minseok. His eyes, a weird mixture of brown and green, were still distrustful, and even if it was a weird thought, he looked sad. Somewhat lonely. When Minseok closed the backyard door, the fox whined, but Minseok tried to calm him again.

“Shhh” - Minseok said looking at the now distressed fox, “I’m not kidnapping you, but I can’t go to sleep with the door open. You can sleep here tonight, tomorrow I’ll open the door.” - Minseok didn’t want to admit it, but after his words, the fox grew silent, almost like he had understood. Really weird, given the fact that he was a fox. “Maybe I let a forest spirit come inside.” - Minseok chuckled.

The little fox made himself at home really quickly. As soon as Minseok stopped looking, he had claimed one of the couches in the living room as his provisional bed. Minseok only laughed at the sight while the fox licked carefully his wound. Minseok brought a towel to dry the fox a little, and even if they had a serious argument, where Minseok had to yell at the fox and the fox had to hiss at the human, the fox ended up pretty dried, comfortably falling asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace.

“My grandma would be delighted to have you here” - Minseok said again to the fox. “She was a big fan of the Golden Fox tales. Every time we spotted a fox while strolling near the forest she would point at it and yell ‘Look it’s the Golden Fox’. She used to sit right where you are.” - Minseok told the animal that lifted his head and ears, almost like he was listening to Minseok’s words. “She would have wanted to keep you as a pet, I’m sure of it.” - Minseok laughed. “I really miss her, I guess that’s why I ended up living in her house instead of buying my own.” - Minseok grabbed an old leather book from the tall wood bookcase in the living room. “She used to sit there and read me this story over and over. Have you ever wondered why it rains so much in this island?” - Minseok asked the fox while opening the book. Soon, he started reading out loud, more for him than for the fox, but it felt nice having another pair of ears to listen to him, even if the fox couldn’t understand.

_Once upon a time._

_That’s how every story about ancient kingdoms, princes, and princesses waiting to be saved from a big bad dragon starts. But in this story, you won’t find any prince or princess, so maybe this tale should start another way._

_Far away, beyond the horizon, across the narrow lands and wide seas, where the sun sets every evening, there is the country of Seom. Seom was a famous island, loved by merchants, sailors and all types of visitors due to their beautiful landscapes, fruitful terrains, and beneficial business. Its gentle south coastline contrasted greatly with its high snowy peaks at the north side of the island that formed cliffs and crags over the sea, while the rest of the green island was a mixture between rolling hills caressed by soft winds and deep forests. Seom looked like a blessing, its inhabitants living in a neverending spring._

_Haedom, Seom’s capital, was a beautiful city, bustling and full of color, rising in front of the sea reflecting the beauty of its white and blue houses on the salted water surface as if it was a painting. But, probably, the most well-known thing about Seom was its protector: Chen, the Golden Fox._

_He was no ordinary fox. With the size of a horse, golden fur and nine tales, Chen was the son of the Sun Goddess, that sent him to Seom, her favorite island in the seven seas, to protect it from any malicious threats. Sea monsters, orcs, serpents,... Chen was unstoppable, powerful, he used his powers to defeat evil and his sweet voice to charm everyone willing to listen. Even with all of this power, he never used it for the wrong reasons, making his mother proud of him and being a kind ally to humans on the island. So kind, that he fell in love with a sailor and gave him his most precious treasure, a marble. If Chen was no ordinary fox, this marble was no ordinary marble, it granted Chen power and knowledge, it was a gift from his mother, it was made of sun rays and had the heart of a star shining inside forevermore. But the greedy human tricked Chen, and once he obtained the marble the attempted to leave the island with it. If a human were to swallow the round jewel of a sacred fox it’ll obtain infinite knowledge and superhuman abilities, almost like a demigod. The Golden Fox, desperate and almost powerless, cried for help and his mother answered, immediately sinking the ship of the human to the bottom of the sea alongside the magical marble and her immense power._

_The Sun Goddess, disappointed and embarrassed, punished her son. She left the marble at the bottom of the sea and threw a curse to the seas around the island, making them unnavigable and the island inaccessible._

_When his mother left to her palace in the clouds, the Golden Fox started crying. He had lost his nine tales except for one, and his size turned out to be the one of an average fox. The only thing he had left was his voice. Heartbroken and alone he cried with such intensity that his laments could be heard and felt everywhere in Seom, summoning the clouds with eternal rains that started flooding the island in that exact moment._

_The same rains that still fell over Haedom, and the entirety of Seom, and its inhabitants, as a daily reminder that one of them broke once the heart of a sacred fox._

  
  


Minseok looked at the fox, curled up in the couch with his face under his furry tail. He looked deeply asleep, not wanting to disturb the animal anymore Minseok left the book and the storytelling wishing that his new friend would recover soon. That night the human slept tight, dreaming about foxes, sunlight and a summer away from Seom.

There was no way Minseok could have guessed that, between all the foxes that live on the island, he had homed a sacred fox.

* * *

  
  
  


“A fox?” - Baekhyun asked bewildered the next morning. “Min, if you wanted a dog you could’ve just told me.”

“I didn’t want a dog...or a fox… It just happened.” - he shrugged while hanging some clothes on a rack. “He is injured, I wanted to help him.”

“Ow” - Baekhyun cooed. “Can I see him? I want to see him. Why don’t you keep him and we can walk together with our pets? I can walk Mongryong and you… well, foxes are canines.”

“You’ve just said that foxes aren’t like dogs, Baek.” - Minseok laughs at his friend’s occurrence. “And yes, you can come with me to the vet.”

With a big smile spreading on his face, and excited eyes, Baekhyun started cutting patterns for some new order while Minseok kept the clients attended and the store clean. Baekhyun’s family owns the best raincoat store in Seom. Of course, tailored and handmade raincoats aren’t exactly cheap but when you live in Haedom, the city of the eternal rains, raincoats are essential. Everyone owns more than one, Baekhyun and Minseok will gladly help you choose until the very last detail of your new garment against the pouring rain. From measurements to buttons, zippers, patterns...anything you want until you left the store with a new raincoat inside of one of their flashy blue bags and a satisfied smile. Minseok couldn’t be happier about his job, not only for the economic stability it grants but also, he gets to work with his best friend and during some hours a day he simply doesn’t have the time to hear the rain falling outside.

“We should take a break and go grab something to eat.” - Baekhyun suggested some hours later after a long morning filled with clients and more clients to attend. Minseok only answered with a strong nod and in the blink of an eye, both of them were closing the main door with a “Be right back” little sign hanging inside.

They decided to eat under the glass and metallic awnings that cover Haedom’s main streets, in an attempt to keep them dry, in a plaza in front of a really crowded meat stall. The food was great, but Minseok would love to eat without the rain over his head. An everyday thought.

“I know what are you thinking.” - Baekhyun said with his mouth stuffed with food like a hamster.

“And what I am thinking?” - Minseok asked cocking an eyebrow.

“Oh, poor me, how much I wish to have a picnic lying on the green grass, a romantic meal under a fruit tree while the sun caresses my pale skin.” - Baekhyun said with a dramatic tone, apparently incarnating Minseok’s thoughts.

Minseok couldn’t help himself but laugh at Baekhyun’s silly actuation, but his friend wasn’t entirely wrong. “Is that supposed to be me?” - he asked in the end.

“Of course” - Baekhyun chuckled with a square smile. “Every single person in Seom would wish to live under the sun, but I don’t know anyone as eager as you.”

“That’s a lot coming from such a social butterfly.”

“What can I do? I like to talk and people find me adorable.” - Baekhyun excused himself while stuffing his mouth one more time.

“Well, you are right about that, about me wanting to live without rain pouring all the time.” - Minseok explained with a tired sigh. “I just… I just think that there has to be something else than an existence filled with flooded streets and raincoats.”

“We all expect that Min” - Baekhyun answered seriously for a second. “But, there is nothing you or I can do besides…”

“Besides making raincoats” - Minseok sighed. “I know.”

“You know…” - Baekhyun whispered wanting to cheer up his discouraged friend. “My grandfather used to say that atop the tallest mountain in Seom there is no rain because it’s so tall that it pierces the clouds.”

“Your grandfather also used to say that his father fought a sea serpent barehand once…”

“I’m pretty sure that he said that while drunk” - Baekhyun laughed loudly remembering it. “But, how great would that be, huh?”

“I would build myself a house there if that was true.” - Minseok said without a hint of a joke in his words, but his frowned eyebrows and stuffed cheeks made Baekhyun burst with laughter. 

They finished their meal and came back to Baekhyun’s family store, there were raincoats waiting to be made while both friends were dreaming of sunny days. Customers came in and out during the afternoon just like any other day at the raincoat store, but the thought of meeting Minseok’s fox friend after work made the two friends work three times faster. When the working hours were gone and the store clean and closed, both friends walked to Minseok’s house only to found nothing. Nothing except for Minseok’s back door wide open.

“How could he open the door? Foxes don’t have thumbs” - Baekhyun asked confused looking at the doorknob.

“I don’t know” - Minseok simply answered. “He had an injury, and he was here in the morning, maybe he isn’t far.”

“Oh no, no, no, no Kim Minseok you are not dragging me to one of your walks near the forest” - Baekhyun said panicking a little. “Those trees are cursed, I tell you. It gives me the chills.”

“Come one, don’t be a scaredy-cat, we’ll only look around, I promise, we won’t enter the woods” - Minseok tried to reassure his friend. “It’s not night yet, we should go now or we won’t see anything.”

“Or maybe we should forget about this, and simply let nature do her thing, you know? Natural selection, you and the fox weren’t meant to be” - Baekhyun kept blabbing while Minseok took a flashlight and placed it in his friend’s hands.

“You can carry the flashlight if that makes you feel better.” - Minseok said chuckling while stepping outside his backdoor.

“No, it doesn’t!” - Baekhyun yelled, but he followed Minseok outside anyway.

Both friends walked the big meadow on the other side of Minseok’s backyard. Today’s rain is heavy and pouring, leaving fat drops on their raincoats hoods. But it won’t stop Minseok from finding the injured fox. If Baekhyun’s constant whines won’t stop him a little water won’t do the job. The forest is closer with every step they take, and it’s clear to Minseok why those trees look scary to Baekhyun. They are ancient, enormous, overgrown due to the amount of water and lack of direct sunlight that made them grow taller in order to obtain a little more indirect solar energy. They form a thick grove, Minseok is even sure that inside they won’t feel as much rain, the tall trees probably work like an umbrella.

But, there is something more about these woods that Minseok can’t explain. He is no wizard or deity to feel anything like auras, but he does feel that something from inside the woods is looking at him. At them.

“Minseok, can we leave now?” - Baekhyun asked for the tenth time. “It’s getting darker”

“Yes, sure” - Minseok replied defeated when a strong wind came from inside the woods, howling like a thousand wolves, increasing the feeling of being watched. 

“What was that?” - Baekhyun asked, turning on the flashlight pointing at the trees.

“Just wind, probably a storm coming.” - Minseok guessed. But another gust came from the woods, making the hoodie of his yellow raincoat fly away, leaving Minseok’s brown hair at the mercy of the rain.

“Minseok, let’s go” - Baekhyun insisted.

“Baek, go back to my house if you want. I’m going inside” - Minseok replied. He heard Baekhyun yelling at him bewildered, and his friend was absolutely right. Minseok must have gone crazy. 

“I’m not letting you go alone without a flashlight at least” - Baekhyun scolded him. “Are you crazy you’ll get lost inside at this hour.”

“Don’t you feel it? It’s like someone it’s watching us.” - Minseok whispered.

“That doesn’t help at all, what I feel is that I want to go home” - Baekhyun insisted once more.

“Give me the flashlight, and go now that it isn’t too dark”

“Sometimes I really hate you, Kim Minseok” - Baekhyun said, pointing the thread of light to the trees once again, searching for an opening that they could use as an entrance. “Let’s go inside before I deeply regret this.”

Minseok laughed. Baekhyun might be a scaredy-cat, but at least he is a loyal scaredy-cat. 

Minseok was right about the woods, the trees worked as an umbrella, only a few drops reaching their faces. They walked as carefully as they could across the woods, roots and small bushes covering the ground made their advancements slower. They managed to see a few bunnies and birds, running away from them as soon as they heard the human’s footsteps, but no signs of foxes around. They could hear water flowing somewhere near them. they didn’t even know that there was a river inside these woods.

“You know…” - Baekhyun said at some point. “That thing you said about being watched...I’m starting to feel it.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s an owl watching us from a branch, a fox, or a spirit, but..:” 

“But what?”- Minseok asked wanting to hear the end of the sentence. But as soon as he turned around, he understood why he didn’t. Baekhyun was gone, as much as the flashlight. Suddenly Minseok was alone in the woods, left in the dark. He yelled Baekhyun’s name, but only the echo of his own voice answered, there was nothing in the ground, or in the tress, he vanished in thin air like the wind had carried him away. An intense panic took control over Minseok’s body as he started running across the dark woods, his feet stumbling against tree roots and fallen branches, not knowing where Baekhyun was or where he was going.

“Could you please stop yelling? It’s late.” - an unknown voice, deep but very clear said to him.

Minseok turned around to find a tall man with iridescent red eyes staring at him. His eyes weren’t the only weird thing, nor even standing in the middle of a forest deep at night was. His head, with hair as red as fire under the little light that crossed the thick woods, had two twisted black horns rising from it. 

“Who are you?” - Minseok asked scared, trying not to make his voice stumble. His eyes searched frantically for an easy way out of the woods

“You woke me up and that’s the first thing you ask?” - the man said annoyed. “I’m Chanyeol, and you? And more importantly, what are you doing yelling in the middle of the woods like a madman? You could’ve woke up a bear.”

“I...I..” - Minseok’s voice stumble, he didn’t know what was confusing him more: the horns, the fact that he was being scolded by a stranger in the middle of the woods of the fact that he had lost Baekhyun. “I lost my friend, we came in searching for a fox…”

“So you are hunters?” - Chanyeol glared at him, his flame-like eyes igniting.

“No, no” - Minseok quickly said, clearing his throat. “I found a fox yesterday, he was injured...and my friend and I came into the woods searching for him...and now my friend is gone…”

“Calm down” - Chanyeol’s expression softened, placing one of his big hands on Minseok’s shoulder. “Entering the woods, especially at night, was plain stupid...er… you didn’t give me your name,”

“Minseok”

“Minseok, that was just plain stupid” - Chanyeol repeated. “There are thousands of foxes in this woods, you can’t risk your life for one injured fox.” - he reasoned.

“I know, but… he looked...so sad” - Minseok said almost whispered, a little embarrassed. “He was so beautiful with that… almost golden fur of his..”

Chanyeol’s hand left Minseok’s shoulder. The horned man now looked at him with a serious expression, like Minseok had said something wrong. “Listen, you should get out of this woods right now and forget about that fox.”

“But, my friend!” - Minseok shouted. “I can’t leave without him!”

“Oh, right, your friend.” - Chanyeol seemed to think for a second. “Did your friend vanished out of nowhere? He was beside you and the next second he wasn’t?” - Minseok only nodded as an answer. Chanyeol sighed. “That’s Sehun doing, he doesn’t like strangers inside the woods. He is an Anemoi, a wind deity, really mischievous at first but a good guy, I’m sure your friend it’s just outside the woods, probably unconscious.”

Minseok nodded again. Confused and delighted by the information, and really trying to process it quickly without fainting in front of Chanyeol. “Sorry, but, what are you?”

Chanyeol laughed, a deep resonant laugh that echoed across the woods. “Wouldn’t you like to know, little human?. Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve talked to a human, and since you are not a hunter I’ll tell you.” - Chanyeol leaned close to Minseok, he could feel the warmth Chanyeol emitted, way too high for Chanyeol to be human. “I’m a dragon.”

Minseok jumped on place, taken aback by the information while Chanyeol laughed at the reaction. “Don’t be scared, I’m not a human eating dragon, a shape-shifting one that likes to hoard music sheets and records.” - Chanyeol bowed politely. “A weirdo, but a chill fire dragon.”

“I can’t…”

“Believe? Well, did you thought that all the tales about Seom were a lie? That the sea serpents, the sacred fox or dragons didn’t exist?” - Chanyeol asked. “Well, now you know for sure.”

“The sacred fox… it’s real?” 

“Oops” - Chanyeol bit his lips. “Let’s help you get away from here and forget this conversation.” 

“No, tell me Chanyeol. Please”

“No, I’m not.” - Chanyeol, with the easiness someone would use to lift a cat, lifted Minseok from his clothes and started walking across the woods on their way out. Dragons sure have strength and speed, the velocity he was using to move across the woods could only have magic as an explanation. “I told you to forget about that fox you saw. Actually, you should forget about all of this, but I don’t have the magic to force you and the druid isn’t here right now... So, you’ll have to promise me, little human.”

“Promise what?” 

“That you won’t come back here looking for that fox” - Chanyeol said leaving Minseok on the ground, outside the woods as if nothing had happened. He was serious about his request, and that only made Minseok wonder even more. “Look, isn’t that your friend?” - the dragon pointed at a body lying on the grass.

“Baekhyun!” - Minseok yelled quickly running to his friend. Baekhyun was unconscious but he breathed normally and besides a few scratches on his face, he looked fine. “Will he be alright?” - Minseok asked the dragon.

“Sure, he will wake up tomorrow morning with a humongous headache, though.” - Chanyeol chuckled. “Can you carry him home?” - Minseok nodded firmly owning a side smile from the dragon. “Fine, because I hate flying under the rain, you know I’m a fire creature and water doesn’t sit with me well.”

“I promise” - Minseok said before Chanyeol could leave them. “I promise I won’t look after the fox if you tell me a thing.”

“Haven’t I told you enough?” - Chanyeol whined the pouting made him look adorable even with two spiky horns on his head.

“The fox I found, was he a sacred fox?” - Minseok asked regardless.

Chanyeol nodded. “There aren’t many sacred foxes nowadays, but the ones with light brown fur are all guardians.”“It wasn’t light brown.” - Minseok asserted. “Under the light, it gleamed goldenly. There is only one golden fox, isn’t it?” - Minseok asked again owning himself a loud sigh from the dragon.

“Humans are so curious. If I tell you, you will return, you would want to know more and I can’t do that.” - Chanyeol sighed again. 

“Please, I need to know.”

“Why?”

“Because I hate this rain. I want it to end, I want to see more, I want my life to be more than already is. I want the curse to be lifted.”

“We all want that, little human” - the dragon said, walking away from Minseok. “I can’t say that your fox was THAT fox you are thinking about. But the only golden fox that exists left this woods a few days ago and came back this morning with an injury and disgusted by dog food.” - Chanyeol looked at Minseok one last time before stepping into the woods. “Does that ring a bell?”

Chanyeol vanished into the tall trees, not a single trace of his previous presence. Minseok had in front of him a long path home carrying Baekhyun on his back but with the exciting beating of his heart, he swore that he could carry a dragon if he needed to.


	2. Breaking a dragon's promise

What the dragon said to Minseok proved to be absolutely true, the next morning Baekhyun woke up being himself and completely unharmed, but with a massive headache like he was having the wildest hungover.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to go inside the woods” - Baekhyun whined munching over the breakfast Minseok prepared him as an apology. “My head hurts so bad I want to die.”

“Do you remember what happened to you?” - Minseok asked curiously.

“Only a little” - Baekhyun started explaining. “I remember a strong wind coming for me, my feet leaving the ground as if I was made of paper...and a laugh.”

“An Anemoi” - Minseok said. “So the dragon wasn’t lying…”

“An Anemoi? A dragon?” - Baekhyun asked raising his voice tone more and more with each question. “My head hurts too bad for mysteries.”

“An Anemoi, a deity of wind did that to you” - Minseok explained. “A dragon named Chanyeol told me.”

Baekhyun looked at Minseok with utter disbelief. “You know you sound like a madman, right?”

“I’m serious.”

“Yes, as serious as you were about finding that fox and look what happened! We didn’t find him” - Baekhyun’s headache was starting to talk in his place, and Minseok noticed. Better not push the topic for longer.

“You are right, we didn’t find him. Let’s forget about it” - Minseok said trying to calm his friend.

“Oh no, that’s bullshit. I know you Kim Minseok. I know that face, you are plotting something” - Baekhyun said pointing at Minseok with his fork. “Tell me, what did that guy Chanyeol told you.”

“How did you…?”

“I’m more clever than I look.” - Baekhyun was persuasive enough without the fork pointing at one of Minseok’s brown eyes, but the fork was adding strength to his friend’s words. 

“Chanyeol told me that the fox wasn’t a normal fox but a sacred one” - Minseok started telling his friend putting down the fork. “And that there is only one golden fox on the entire island. Also, said unique fox returned yesterday morning to the forest with a wound...and smelling like dog food or something like that”

“What does that mean?”

“That golden fox and my fox are the same creatures. Meaning that I homed Chen, the Golden Fox, the other night.”

“That’s….” - Baekhyun started talking but soon he changed his speech. “Wait, the fox smelled like dog food? Did you feed a fox Mongryong’s food? You are heartless.”

“That’s not the important part!”

“It is! He is going to feel so betrayed...you are his favorite uncle” - Baekhyun said dramatically.

“I’m his only uncle” 

“A betrayal is a betrayal.” - Baekhyun said munching the last piece of food on his plate. “Anyway, I’m not opening the store today, my head hurts too much to deal with clients.”

“That’s wise” - Minseok agreed. “I need your help with something.”

“Tell me it has nothing to do with stepping into dangerous woods again”

“No..”- Minseok lied with a smile. “I need to buy music sheets, nice ones. Do you know where?”

“I have plenty of them, my mother was obsessed with me being a pianist when I was a kid. Why?”

“For a dragon.”

* * *

  
  
  


“If that anemone tries to kick me out again, I’ll punch him” - Baekhyun said full of resolution looking at the imposing trees. During the day, they weren’t as scary, but nonetheless impressive. The fine rain decided to be more benevolent with them, there weren’t any signs of a storm coming soon and the wind that howled last night wasn’t present at all. A relief for both.

“Anemoi” - Minseok chuckled. “I really hope they don’t kick us… I don’t know If I fear more the dragon or the wind god.”

“Why did I agree to do this?” - Baekhyun sighed still looking at the trees a little discouraged. 

“Because you are my best friend and I don’t deserve you at all” - Minseok said with a monotone voice. He had been repeating the same sentence all the way to the forest entrance, much to Baekhyun’s delight, that wore a satisfied smile all the trip.

“The biggest truth ever said” - Baekhyun said with a content sigh while he started walking towards the trees. 

Knowing that at some point they’ll face a dragon sure added some spice to their daytime trip into the woods. Minseok was worried about the possible confrontation and hoped that the gifts Baekhyun was carrying in his backpack were good enough to soothe the anger of a dragon. For the Anemoi he had no idea of what were they going to do, they’ll have to improvise that part.

They heard some water stream in the distance, just like last night, birds that flew away and some rodents hiding under the entangled roots of the trees. Even if outside the grove the sky was cloudy, inside the woods the light was beautiful, dying with a hue of green everything under its touch. And of course, the best part, the trees were so lush that they couldn’t feel the rain soaking them.  They kept walking for a while until two voices disrupted the serenity of their stroll, in the middle of a clearing surrounded by reeds and little water ponds two men talked. One of them was Chanyeol for sure, Minseok recognized him and his horns from a distance, and the other should be the Anemoi.

“Stop already, I know he is acting weird again but there is nothing you and I can do about it” - the Anemoi, dressed in an elegant white silky robe told Chanyeol while lying on a wide and twisted tree branch a few meters from the ground.

“Yixing won’t agree, we can’t keep living like this, I feel confined!” - the dragon shouted.

“Tone down, lizard.” - the Anemoi answered. “What are you going to do anyway? Take him out of the woods to do what? Talk to humans? Befriend them? He hates them with a burning passion and you know it.”

“I’m not saying that. But...how many times a human has crossed the woods? We could’ve taken that chance..:” - Chanyeol answered with a distraught expression.

“Don’t get sad yet, I think you’ll have a second chance” - the Anemoi, in the blink of an eye, descended from the branch without his feet touching the ground, quickly approaching the bushes and tall plants where Minseok and Baekhyun were hiding while listening to their conversation. “You wanted a human, I count two here”

“WHAT?” - the dragon yelled, approaching too. “I told you not to come back!”

“I know! I’m sorry” - Minseok told the dragon really quickly stepping out of the bushes, his eyes burned but he didn’t look angry, maybe insulted. “I’m sorry, but we brought you gifts so you can forgive us!”

“Gifts?” - Chanyeol asked with the sweetest voice Minseok has ever heard. The sudden contrast left Minseok perplexed.

“Oh, no, you said the magic word” - the Anemoi said rolling his eyes.

“Here, have this” - Baekhyun, with a pair of trembling hands threw the dragon his entire backpack, Chanyeol quickly opened it to let out a pleased whine when he found the music sheets inside.

“Congratulations, you tamed the dragon” - the Anemoi even clapped. “Now, before I take the both of you out of the woods, what are you two doing here again?”

“I want to talk to the fox” - Minseok said almost pleading. “Please.”

“Your pleas have no place here, the fox doesn’t talk to humans” - the Anemoi answered with a strong furrow. The deity was outstanding, so beautiful that he definitely had to be some sort of non-human creature even if he looked younger than Minseok. But, don’t be fooled by this, his countenance also hid strength and determination. “He won’t want to talk to you.”

“I saved him!” - Minseok spoke back. “The other night he was injured, I fed and homed him, I think I deserve to, at least, meet him.”

“Deserve? DESERVE?” - a gust of wind erupted from the Anemoi’s slim figure. “What do humans deserve after what they did to him? If your species wasn’t as greedy we wouldn’t be trapped in this godforsaken island!”

“But there is a way to put an end to this, right?” - Minseok spoke again, trying to stand as still as he could against the strong winds, with a glance he saw how Baekhyun had to hold himself onto a tree trunk. “Let me speak to him.”

“I won’t!” - the Anemoi yelled back.

“Enough both of you!” - Chanyeol, with a deep growl, stopped the argument right there, there was a fire inside his eyes and smoke coming out of his mouth as if he were ready to spit out flames. “I told you to not come back here, but since you are here I’ll guide you to the fox”

“Chanyeol”

“Enough!” - Chanyeol shouted again. “I don’t want to argue with you Sehunnie, but what’s the worse that can happen? That we remain like we are, slowly drowning until the end of times? Let the human have a chance.”

“I’m just… worried, his state is fragile” - Sehun answered with a mellow tone. “I don’t trust humans either.”

“I know, but listen, if these two are brave or stupid enough to face a dragon and a deity to meet the Golden Fox… maybe this is our chance.” - Chanyeol said with a less sharp tone. Sehun only nodded. “Take care of the other human.”

Minseok turned around to look at Baekhyun that nodded confidently at him still half-hidden behind a tree. Whatever may happen in the fox lair, Baekhyun will be there, waiting for him in the clear. Whatever happens.

To say that Minseok’s heart went crazy as soon as he started following Chanyeol across an intricate path of green lush plants, reeds, and occasional water streams, was something rather obvious. The culprit was not only Chanyeol’s quick pace, but also the feeling of stepping into the unknown, and an even worse the feeling of stepping into a place a human isn’t supposed to be. After some time, Chanyeol halted, turning around to look at Minseok. 

“You should go by yourself now” - Chanyeol said in almost a whisper. 

“Why?” - Minseok asked.

“I...I don’t really know how is he going to react” - Chanyeol excused himself. “Don’t worry, I’ll be near if something goes wrong, just… just call my name, okay?”

Minseok nodded, even if Chanyeol was trying to ease the tension with a friendly smile his words weren’t reassuring at all. Minseok was sure that any animal or magical creature living in the woods could hear his heartbeat in kilometers around. In front of him, a few steps covered in moss that led to a small round area. He heard Chanyeol stepping away from him until the reeds stopped moving and Minseok couldn’t see the black horns anymore. The nervous human climbed the steps, ahead of him a sinewy and writhing Chinese pine along with a few water ponds. Minseok had never laid eyes on grass as green like this one, so inviting and fresh-looking, frogs and small fishes swam on the ponds but there were no foxes in sight. The place looked straight out of a fairytale, or a dream.

But there was a person. Or at first glance, it looked like a person.

He dressed like the Anemoi, with a long silky robe but this time in green and golden tones that complimented his skin and blonde hair. His eyes had the same mixture of green and brown as the fox Minseok found on his backyard, he also shared the ears and the tail, the same goldenly fur color. He was definitely the fox Minseok was looking for. The sharp cheeks and upturned corners of his lips made him look cunning, almost as if he was laughing at a private joke. But Minseok wouldn’t dare to ask what the joke was about, from those beautiful eyes emanated a fierce coldness, a sempiternal layer of distrust and disgust.

“What are you doing here?” - the man asked out of nowhere, his voice stern.

“I wanted to see you” - Minseok answered not really sure if he should be referring to him as informally. “I wanted to check if you were okay.”

The man laughed soundly. “You crossed the woods to check if a fox was okay? Don’t make me laugh. You know who I am and you want some reward.” - the fox approached Minseok with an arrogant smile. “What is what you want as a reward for helping the once all-mighty Golden Fox, huh? Money? Jewels?...Power?”

“I...I don’t want anything.” - Minseok replied with a thread of a voice. The fox’s words were meant to hurt, that much was clear, but Minseok won’t let those knives get under his skin so easily.

“Good, because I don’t have any of those things and I wouldn’t give anything to a nasty human even If I could” - the fox looked dead serious, his eyes fixated solely on Minseok while walking in circles around him. Minseok felt the same panic a rabbit would feel in front of a wild fox. “You were really helpful the other night, I give you that. But now, leave, because here you won’t find anything besides utter disappointment.”

“I… I won’t leave until you hear me out” - Minseok took a step closer to the fox, staring at him as strongly as the fox was. Or at least, he hoped his eyes could have the same effect on the fox. “You are Chen, the guardian of Seom, our protector.”

“Nobody calls me that anymore” - Chen answered with some sadness lingering in his words. “And I’m sure that I didn’t give you permission.”

“Permission?” - Minseok huffed exasperatedly. He really didn’t want to start an argument with the fox, but his insulting tone and words were too much. Even if Minseok could feel a slight tremble on his legs and how the knot inside his throat increased the pressure around his words he had to talk. Minseok had to do something, otherwise, he will forever regret it.“I’ve been living my whole life under the raining curse your mother cast on us, I think I don’t need permission to call you by your name.”

“That’s not even my real name, but suit yourself human. Now that your true nature it’s coming to the surface, tell me, why are you here?” - Chen asked with clear irritation on his silvery voice.

“I want the curse to be lifted.”

Chen laughed, not only soundly but also several tears came out from his eyes. “You are really funny, I give you that.”

“I’m not joking, Chen. I can’t live like this anymore, anyone on this island actually. You have to do something.”

“You have to do something he says” - Chen kept saying with a hint of his laugh still on his lips. “You say that like I haven’t tried as if I’ve been lying around and eating sweets for entire decades”

“And you haven’t?” - Minseok dared to say.

“No, I haven’t” - Chen said, this time serious. “I don’t need to give any explanations to a human. Go back now to your bland life, in a few years you’ll be dead and your worries will vanish.”

“This is not only about me, but it’s also about the island, about the future.” - Minseok said almost scolding the fox. Minseok really wanted to punch that smug smile of his. “How can you be so selfish?”

“Selfish? No one comes into my den and calls me selfish” - Chen said with a furious tone. Minseok saw how inside his eyes rage and mistrust ran rampant. He even showed Minseok his long fangs, too sharp to be human and menacing enough to make Minseok worry about his life “Especially not a filthy human, after all the curse is your fault, your goddam species fault. I gave all of you my best years and my best work, I kept all of you safe and sound and how did you all return the favor?” - Chen was now so close that Minseok could smell the flowers and the wood in his skin, but the human couldn’t move his eyes from the green and brown rage showing on Chen’s.

“With heartbreak” - Minseok answered.

“Yes.” - Chen nodded. “With treason. Get out of my sight.”

This time, Minseok didn’t answer back. Walking down the steps back to the reed path he found Chanyeol that soon started talking to him, but Minseok couldn’t hear him. His head was blocked, his eyes red and teary. The only thing repeating over and over was the last words Chen said to him, almost like a mantra. Treason, heartbreak, rain.

Not long after when he reached the clear in the woods he found Baekhyun and Sehun chatting amicably. His friend always had a way to charm everyone, apparently even reluctant deities. But Minseok couldn’t find in him whatever was necessary to smile and laugh at the sight. He had contemplated the possibility that his offer to help would be rejected, but this was way worse than being simply rejected, Chen had insulted him, as a human and as a person. He saw Chanyeol’s gloomy eyes as much as he heard Baekhyun’s incessant questions, but right there in the middle of the woods Minseok had the feeling that a water torrent had dragged him to the ocean where he was now drowning. 

Outside the woods, he only found that the morning feeble rains have transformed into an electric storm resounding in the sky. At least that made sense.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


A week, with its rains and storms, passed away.

Minseok went back to his routine, to his everyday life, and despite Baekhyun’s attempts to make him talk about what happened back in the fox’s lair Minseok didn’t tell him a single word. His face told enough about the harshness in Chen’s expressions and manners.

Drip by drip Minseok felt how his hopes and dreams about having a life outside Seom, under the sunlight, were dying engulfed by the rain.

Until, one uneventful evening, a man with white and blue clothes, as if he came straight out from another era and an oil paper umbrella showed up at the raincoat store.

“Good evening” - the man, with a serene but powerful voice said as soon as he entered the store. “Can I speak with Kim Minseok?”

Minseok and Baekhyun looked at each other a little confused until Minseok dared to speak back.

“It’s me.”

“Nice to meet you” - the man, with an adorable dimpled smile, bowed to Minseok. Minseok bowed shortly too. “My name is Yixing. I am afraid that we couldn’t be introduced the other day in the woods, but you met some of my friends.”

“Oh, you are another magical creature from the woods?” - Minseok asked a little taken aback. Yixing looked completely human.

“Oh, no, I’m a human as much as you.” - Yixing chuckled a little. “It just happens that I’ve dedicated my life to the study of magic and nature. I’m a druid, that’s why I live in the woods.”

“I understand” - Minseok answered, Yixing looked honest enough but Minseok doubts about his motives to be here. Right now he can’t afford to be insulted again. “Can I help you with something?”

“Indeed.” - Yixing nodded, content that Minseok decided to go straight to the point. “I’m aware that you had a serious argument with a certain grumpy fox. But he is acting like a child, not wanting to talk to us because we let a human enter the woods, so I came here to ask you directly.”

“Grumpy is not the word that I would use to describe Chen”- Minseok said with a cocked brow. “More like rude”

“So that’s what happened?” - Baekhyun said without even thinking. “He isn’t telling me anything either”

“Oh, you must be the other human, nice to meet you too.” - Yixing introduced himself again. “Then I guess that the fight was serious.”

Minseok sighed. “I don’t know how to talk about it, honestly.”

“Just tell us, what’s the worse thing that can happen? That I want to punch Chen in the throat?” - Baekhyun said loudly hitting the store’s counter with his fist in the process.

“I won’t allow such methods… but I’m sure that Chen was rude enough to deserve a slap or two” - Yixing agreed with a long sigh. “I’ve been his friend most of my life, he distrusted me for years until I proved myself to be...different.”

“Different from who? From the rest of the human race?” - Minseok said out of the blue, annoyed. He was starting to get sick of hearing insults about his condition all the time. “It’s not my fault as a human that he got cheated or hurt, I believe that some centuries under the neverending rain are punishment enough!” 

“I agree” - Yixing said. “I think that you didn’t understand me. I proved myself to be different from the man who broke his heart, not the entire human species. But now I see what Chen told you that made you so upset.”

“I… I don’t get it. He told me that he had been trying to stop the curse but,... even if that is true how could he be so selfish?” - Minseok asked Yixing.

“Time, heartbreak, treason, and above all, abandonment made him selfish. I’m not excusing his rudeness towards you at all, but, it hasn’t been easy for him. He was at the top, everyone on this island adored him, he was their protector. In the blink of an eye, everyone blamed and hated him. Everyone turned its back on him, including his mother. The only thing he has left that makes him resemble the guardian he once was is his voice. He has nothing else left.”

“I get it, Yixing, I really do” - Minseok said. “You are wasting your time speaking to me, I don’t want to have anything to do with him anymore.”

“That’s not true” - Baekhyun interrupted with an offended tone. “Don’t you dare to say that. There is no person on this island that wishes to lift the curse more than you, Kim Minseok. You are the most stubborn, selfless and hard-working person I know, and I also know that you won’t get defeated by some mean words.”

“Truth is” - Yixing spoke again with a big grin after hearing Baekhyun’s words. “I came because a certain red dragon was worried about you, but I also wanted to meet the two brave humans that not only dared to enter the woods one night, but they did it twice.”

“And tamed a dragon.” - Baekhyun said proudly owning himself a light chuckle from Yixing.

“What else do you need Yixing?” - Minseok asked a little tired of the topic. Deep down he knew that Baekhyun’s words were right, but he was also hurt. “You came here for something else, I’m sure.”

“Come with me back into the woods, talk with Chen once again.” - Yixing said offering his hand to Minseok as if they were sealing a deal. “Maybe I’ve been listening too much to Chanyeol’s wishes but I do really think that you have what’s necessary to help him. To help the entire island.”

Minseok looked at Yixing’s hand. He was sure that the fox won’t apologize for his words, hell, he was super sure that the fox will be even meaner if he saw him in his lair once again. But just as Chanyeol said to Sehun a week ago, what’s the worse that could happen? That they stay like this, slowly drowning forever?.

With some reluctance, Minseok took Yixing’s hand. And Yixing answered with another one of his dimpled smiles.

* * *

  
  
“I’m really glad that you are back” - Chanyeol said in a whisper. It’s a really interesting contrast, how Chanyeol, being the mighty and big dragon that he is, can sound so soft and small when he wants. “I thought that you’d never come back.”

Minseok smiled at the dragon’s concern and soft demeanor. “ I didn’t want to, to be honest. But Yixing can be really persuasive.”

“It’s the dimpled smile” - Chanyeol said convinced. “He always gets what he wants with those two dimples.”

Even if the atmosphere was light between both of them, Minseok noticed how the reeds were starting to disappear and the mossy steps were getting closer and closer. The tension started to build up inside Minseok’s heart, a knot forming in his throat. “Thanks for walking me here, Chanyeol.”

“I… I didn’t want to leave you alone.” - Chanyeol admitted. “Chen is not bad, he won’t ever hurt you...but he is broken and sad… And I hated the face you had the other day when you left.”

“Don’t worry, Chanyeol. I might not be a dragon, but I’m strong enough” - Minseok joked trying to lift Chanyeol’s mood a little. The petite side smile of the dragon signaled that it might have worked. “I’ll go alone from here.”

“I’ll be here if you need anything.”

“No.” - Minseok said with a soft smile to hide how nervous he actually was. “Go back with the rest of them, I know the way.”

“But, Minseok..”

“Chanyeol, I’ll go back with Chen or I won’t go back, don’t wait for me.” - Minseok was serious this time, he doesn’t know from where he had regained his confidence, if from Baekhyun’s words or maybe Chanyeol was right and Yixing always get what he wants with that dimpled smile of his, but the important thing was that it was back. And it wasn’t going anywhere, as much as him. “Trust me.”

“I do. Good luck little human.” 

Minseok waited until the black horns vanished from sight between the reed sea. Now, he was alone, the only thing filling the air was the chirping of some birds and a nearby water stream. He climbed the steps the same way he did the last time, careful not to slip with the moss and looking directly at the Chinese pine in the center of the little prairie. Chen was there, he wasn’t looking amused or surprised at all, but also he didn’t look pleased with Minseok’s presence.

“I knew you were coming back.” - Chen spoke out of the blue, his tone monotone. “The hopes I had that I’d scared you away for good crushed.”

“Sorry to disappoint you. Looks like you aren’t the most stubborn creature on this island.”

“Oh, you came back with some nerve. I quite like that.” 

“Listen, I don’t want to argue again. But I’m not leaving this place until you leave with me” - Minseok said as convincingly sounding as he could.

“What? Me? Leaving the woods? Not in a hundred years” - Chen replied.

“Been there done that already” - Minseok answered sarcastically. “Do you want to turn into a tree?”

“And do you want to anger me, human?” - Chen spoke back, irritated. His furry tail started moving with the increasing annoyance. “What do you plan to achieve with all of this?”

“I want you to trust humans again” - Minseok confessed. “If you saw how we live, how the curse has changed our lives…”

“What? I would magically regain my trust for the human species? Don’t make me laugh.” - Chen answered sarcastically.

“Okay, maybe you don’t need to trust the whole human species again. Only me. Trust me.”

Jongdae turned to look at Minseok a little taken aback. His expression was a weird mixture, he definitely found truth and sincerity in Minseok’s words, because the human had spoken with his heart on his hand since the minute he got there. He had never, not even when he insulted him, meant harm to him. But also the mistrust is still there, still nailed deep into the fox’s heart. “I can’t… this is not right.” - Minseok’s heart broke a little when he heard Chen’s voice, almost whispering, so wounded, cranky. 

“Chen..” 

“Jongdae” - the fox said. “I can’t bear hearing you use that name the humans I protected gave me. It’s like a burden over my shoulders.”

“Jongdae” - Minseok said, approaching Jongdae slowly. Jongdae didn’t move but his expression grew wary and his ears flattened. Minseok offered him his hand. “Trust me, please.”

“You are the weirdest human I’ve ever encountered” - Jongdae answered. “Why should I trust you or your motivations at all?”

“I know you can feel that I mean no harm. None of us can stop this curse without the other, I’m sure of that. I can’t do anything on my own because I’m just a small human like Chanyeol says. And you won’t get anything solved by just remaining here, isolated.” - Minseok explained. “You need to step out of here, and I need you to show me what can I do to end this.”

“That’s an optimistic way of facing this problem” - Jongdae complained.

“Well” - Minseok shrugged offering his hand to Jongdae once again. “You’ve tried the pessimistic route for some decades, maybe it’s time for a change of paths.” - Minseok said, still offering his open hand and the most sincere smile.

Minseok saw how Jongdae stared at him. At first, the human thought that it was his usual prideful look, but instead he found a glimpse of a smile on his lips and a hint of hope hidden on the green of his eyes. Something started moving right there, just as Jongdae hand moved to grasp Minseok’s.  Right there, Minseok swore that the birds had stopped singing, and the frogs weren’t jumping over the puddles anymore, because the only thing he could hear was Jongdae’s nervous chuckle, the only thing he could feel the warmth flowing from the fox hand against his own.


	3. A fox, a dragon, an Anemoi, two humans and a druid.

Minseok’s plan consisted of taking Jongdae out of the woods so he will get a glimpse of Seom’s decaying state to - hopefully - motivate him and figure out together a plan to stop the curse definitely.

What Minseok wasn’t expecting was a dragon, an Anemoi and a druid joining the party. He should have guessed that, to be honest. Chanyeol, Sehun, and Yixing were, to say the least, surprised to see Minseok stepping out of the fox’s lair with Jongdae in such good terms, they were even more surprised to hear that Jongde had decided to collaborate with Minseok’s idea, not without a sassy tone while saying:

“If this is the end for all of us, blame the human.”

Baekhyun’s face, when Minseok entered the raincoat store around closing time that day with the rest of mythical creatures by his side, was unforgettable. He first opened his mouth with disbelief, after that he emitted a few surprising sounds and broke into laughter. 

“You did it!” - Baekhyun celebrated hugging Minseok. “I can’t believe, your hard as rock head it’s useful for once!” 

“Hey!” - Minseok complained. 

“This is the fox?” - Baekhyun asked right away. “You are cute, but if you hurt my friend again I’ll punch you in the throat, I don’t care if Yixing says I can’t”

“Please, don’t use violence” - Yixing said with a sigh.

“You’ll have to stop me” - Baekhyun laughed.

“What’s this store about?” - Sehun asked out of the blue touching the rubbery fabric of some raincoats.

“A raincoat store” - Minseok answered. “We make tailored raincoats, personalized.”

“Can I get one?” - Chanyeol asked suddenly. “See, I’m a fire creature, I hate water and the stroll from the woods got me super wet…”

“Of course!” - Baekhyun yelled excited. “I’ve never made a raincoat for a dragon, come with me to choose the fabric!” 

“Oh, I can choose?” - Chanyeol asked delightedly.

“I want one too!” - Sehun yelled following Baekhyun and Chanyeol to the fabric storage room.

“Sehun, don’t bother Baekhyun while he works, please” - Yixing softly reprimanded the other following them too. 

Minseok decided to quickly close the store, so no one will enter while they attend their special guests when Jongdae talked to him. He had been strangely quiet since they left the woods.

“Did I really hurt you?” - he asked regarding Baekhyun’s words.

Minseok took a second to answer. “You did” - he finally answered with a sad undertone on his voice, there was no other way of putting this. “I was really hurt for like...an entire week, and then Yixing came and convinced me. Well, Baekhyun did that too.” - he simply shrugged.

“...I’m sorry, Minseok.” - Jongdae said in a low deep voice that tingled inside Minseok’s brain. The human even wondered if the fox was using his voice like in the tales. “I… don’t feel comfortable around humans anymore…”

“I understand” - Minseok said reassuringly, approaching Jongdae to offer some comfort. Minseok’s heart hurt a little seeing Jongdae like that. “Is that why you were so silent since we left the woods?”

Jongdae nodded. “Partially. I’m still not sure about this. Is still a little crazy in my head.”

“It’s okay” - Minseok said touching Jongdae’s arm lovingly, to his surprised Jongdae didn’t flinch or move, he only looked at his hand. “Take your time. Things will get better, you’ll get better”

“What do you mean?” - Jongdae asked.

“Well, if this ends how it should you’ll regain your powers and maybe make one or two new friends along the way. Isn’t that an improvement?” - Minseok asked with one of his gummy smiles.

Jongdae nodded. “I guess so.” They lingered like that for a second, sharing not only a long gaze but also, understanding. Jongdae felt a little weird inside, the last time he reached some sort of understatement with a human it ended poorly for him. Somehow, Minseok seemed to be different, he seemed to understand Jongdae’s loneliness, and that scared the fox greatly.

“Minseok! Can you please help me? I have a dragon and an anemone arguing on the back store!” - Baekhyun yelled suddenly.

“It’s Anemoi!” - Sehun’s complaints erupted a second after.

“Coming!” - Minseok yelled back with a laugh. “Come, let’s see if we can make you a raincoat too” - Minseok said grabbing Jongdae’s hand to show him the rest of the store.

There was a time where Jongdae didn’t care about humans wanting his attention or grabbing his hand out of the blue. There was a time, decades ago where he loved, he lived for that kind of attention. People greeted him as soon as he showed up on the city, even in his human form. They asked for permission to touch his tail, they asked him to delight them with a song or two...The day he lost everything people stopped looking at him, they blatantly avoided him like he had the plague, they condemned him for falling in love.

Friends, that word with Minseok’s light and chirpy voice kept resonating inside his head almost like a mantra. Friends. A new friend or two. Jongdae smiled, he could even feel his eyes heavy due to tears forming inside.

After so much time in the shadows, sunlight can make your eyes teary.

Minseok nor Baekhyun remember an order so difficult or messy as this one. They spent almost four hours of their free time to make three new raincoats - Yixing chose one already made that combined with his clothes not wanting to be a bother for the tailors. Chanyeol chose one that you could say it was made for him, black with flames at the lowest part and two holes in the hoodie to let out his two horns; if that isn’t what comes to anyone’s mind when thinking about a dragon in a raincoat Baekhyun doesn’t know what it could be. Sehun decided that he wanted a transparent one, because in his own words; “My clothes are made of the purest silk that exists, I want them to be seen”. For Jongdae’s one Minseok chose one simple fabric, a pale green that looked well with his clothes. Baekhyun and Minseok laughed until tears came out when Jongdae instead chose one beige fabric with little foxes on the pockets. Even if it was a fabric meant for children’s raincoats, it fitted him.

“I’ve never seen Chanyeol this happy” - Jongdae commented. “Not even when there was no rain and he used to fly around the island playing with the wind.” - Everyone looked at Chanyeol stepping into puddles of water, delighted by the fact that now he couldn’t get soaked. They’ve left the store a while before, attempting to get something to eat, but their walk to the restaurant was getting longer and longer thanks to Chanyeol stopping to jump into every puddle. Some people looked at him - because of the show the dragon was pulling in the middle of the street and because of the two horns popping out of the black fabric - but Yixing, being the mother hen he is quickly explained that it was some kind of fashion statement to every concerned passerby.

“How was the island when it didn’t rain?” - Minseok asked while walking beside Jongdae. There was nothing he wished more than to see the island without rain so the question came out with the biggest gummy smile, like a kid asking for sweets.

“Well…” - Jongdae wondered how he could explain this to him. “It only rained sometimes, especially in autumn and winter. But spring and summer were hot and mostly sunny, with bright blue skies and chilly nights. Seom was a paradise.” - Jongdae explained.

“I loved to walk near the beach back then” - Yixing said with a dreamy sigh.

“Wait, what?” - Baekhyun asked out of the blue. “How old are you?”

“Super old” - the druid answered with one of his dimpled smiles. “The thing is, when you play with magic you find ways to live longer, for example.”

“You amaze me” - Baekhyun said lost in Yixing’s words.

“I remember the day he showed up in the woods. He was only twenty. After that, he turned twenty many many times.” - Jongdae said.

“And the fox, the dragon and the anemone are even older” - Baekhyun said in awe.

“It’s Anemoi” - Sehun replied getting really pissed, which only made Baekhyun laugh harder.

Minseok sighed, now he was the one with the dreamy look. “Must have been wonderful to live at that time…” - he said.

“If we stop the curse what’s the first thing you want to do with the new weather?” - Jongdae asked. Minseok was surprised for the sudden question, and even more for being Jongdae the one asking, but he replied with his usual smile and sincerity.

“I think sunbathing on the grass would be great. Or go to the beach, and after a bath, feel how my skin gets dried up only with the Sun warmth.” - Minseok said with a chuckle. “I know, it sounds naïve.”

“It doesn’t” - Jongdae replied, staring directly at Minseok’s brown eyes. “I hope you get to do those things someday, Minseok.”

Minseok was about to answer. About to say to the fox that, maybe, someday they could go to the beach together, play with the water and chat on the warm sands until the Sun sets on the horizon. But it was not the right time. Not with Jongdae’s eyes full of guilt. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault Jongdae. Someday.” - he smiled brightly to the fox, really mean those words. Even the ones he didn’t have the courage to pronounce yet.

“Someday” - Jongdae answered with a short smile, some of the sadness vanishing drip by drip.

  
  
They reached one of Minseok and Baekhyun’s favorite restaurants and ordered food right away, as many as their pockets could afford. Chanyeol and Sehun looked excited to taste human food again and at the same time they complained about Yixing’s cooking skills. When the food was served, none of them talked for a while, the table was filled exclusively with munching sounds and some content humming from Baekhyun.

When the plates started emptying, Minseok dared to ask a question he had been meaning to ask since they left the woods;

“Where are the four of you going to sleep? Are you getting back to the woods?”

“I thought you were my host” - Jongdae replied very sure of his words.

“If you are Jongdae’s host then you are ours too” - Sehun added with his mouth full of meat.

“Sehun, don’t talk with your mouth full” - Yixing scolded him. “Can’t we sleep at your place?”

“My place?” - Minseok asked taken aback. “I mean, I have a big house but...I’m not sure that we all fit inside..”

“You can move the couches a little, there’s plenty of space” - Jongdae answered resolutely like he was talking about his own house.

“Ooooh, that’s true, you’ve already slept with Minseok” - Sehun said wiggling his eyebrows funnily.

Jongdae blushed heavily. “Don’t say it like that, moron!” - Minseok preferred not to assimilate Sehun’s words afraid of his own cheeks and ears getting red.

“I call dibs on the guest room” - Baekhyun said out of the blue, distracting Minseok from his previous thoughts.

“You are coming too?” - Minseok asked 

“What? You have literally a party in your house, you expect me to stay at my own house and do nothing?” - Baekhyun said faking a little annoyance. Or maybe he wasn’t faking, Minseok couldn’t tell. “I’ll go fetch Mongryong and I’ll be there in the blink of an eye”

“Is it really necessary that you bring your dog?”

“Of course, Chanyeol is going to adore him” - Baekhyun answered with one of his square smiles.

“This way it’ll be easier to come up with a plan to address this situation” - Yixing said trying to encourage Minseok. “It’s better if we work together.”

“Fine, fine” - Minseok agreed. “I have no problem with this, really, just don’t break anything, my house is ancient.”

The rest of the party all answered a loud “Yes, boss” to Minseok, right after they burst with laughter, making the rest of the restaurant look at them as if they were crazy. In Minseok’s opinion, they might be a little, but this is a type of madness that he would love to drown in more.

Just as Jongdae said, they moved Minseok’s couches and the coffee table, leaving the center of his living room empty of furniture and perfect to set some improvised beds. Chanyeol had claimed the couch as his own, his long legs - and long self, to be fair - he occupied the couch entirely, leaving the floor and the reclining armchair to the other three. Luckily for all of them, Minseok had some old camping stuff they could use instead of sleeping directly on the floor or the carpet.

Chanyeol, Sehun, and Baekhyun were happily playing some board game, with Mongryong already sleeping at his owner’s legs when Minseok noticed Yixing alone by the kitchen. He was looking at Jongdae, sat outside under the rain.

“Is he alright?” - the human asked not wanting to intrude.

“He will be, It’s been a weird day for him.” - Yixing said with a short nod. “And for you too, I guess. You did an amazing job this morning at the grove.”

“Thanks?” - Minseok answered unsure with a nervous smile. “We were both rude the first time, so I tried a different approach the second.”

“I think he needed that little rudeness… as a push” - Yixing said. “What was your second approach?”

“Sincerity” - Minseok replied. “I mean, I was sincere the first time, but I thought that maybe he needed some of that in a softer way”

Yixing chuckled. “I think you are right. The world has been mean enough to him already.” - the druid agreed.

“I’ll go get him inside” - Minseok said, already stepping out of the kitchen door. “Yixing, thanks for coming to the store to talk to me. You also did a great job there.”

Yixing laughed, watching Minseok’s smile cross from the kitchen to the backyard to meet Jongdae. Yixing had been living for so long with dragons, deities and other magical creatures that at some point he had forgotten what to be human actually means. However, with Minseok around, he gets a glimpse of what it used to feel like. There’s something about watching the human approaching Jongdae, both of them smiling shyly at each other that made the druid’s heart weak.

“Indeed, a good job” - Yixing muttered to himself, knowing that the rain it’s at the end of its days.

  
  


* * *

Minseok fell into this new routine rather easily, much to his surprise.

Every morning since the “Four Horsemen of the Rainapocalipse” like Baekhyun likes to call them, arrived at his place it’s the same. He wakes up and makes his bed neatly, some mornings he finds a fox sleeping on his pillow and other mornings don’t. He wakes up Baekhyun - or Chanyeol, or Sehun, they’ve convinced Baekhyun to take turns on the guest bed - still asleep in the guest room and goes downstairs to make some breakfast and leave to work. That’s the easy part.  Minseok has to - not only avoid stepping on Mongryong’s fluffy tail - but also several heads, sometimes horns, and others a long golden fox tail. Minseok, at this point, has come to terms with the idea that he no longer has control over what happens in his house.

That’s why, one certain morning when he reached the main floor and smelled the unmistakable aroma of freshly made pancakes he thought that he had gone nuts. Plus there were no heads, horns, or tails on the floor.

When he reached his kitchen he found Yixing and Sehun cooking pancakes and failing miserably at turning them neatly inside the pan.

“What is going on?” - Minseok asked trying not to look at this kitchen counter absolutely covered in pancake banter.

“Oh, good morning!” - Yixing replied. “I hope you like pancakes, Baekhyun taught us this morning and we are preparing them!” 

“Some are a little burned, leave those to Chanyeol, he likes his food crisp” - Sehun added.

“And he left you two alone with the kitchen?” - Minseok complained. “Thanks for the breakfast, though, but it’s dangerous if you don’t know how to use the kitchen properly.”

“He went with Chanyeol to walk Mongryong” - Sehun said. “Chanyeol loves that little puppy.”

“Are you talking about Baekhyun or Mongryong?” - Minseok asked jokingly, making Yixing snicker. “And Jongdae?”

“He’s sleeping on Baekhyun’s bed” - Yixing answered. 

“I’ll go wake him.” - Minseok said, firstly as an excuse to leave his dirty kitchen, and secondly, to not start eating without the rest, pancakes always make him especially hungry. He reached the guest room quickly, expecting to see Jongdae on his fox form, curled up over himself like when he sleeps at Minseok’s pillow, but this time he found Jongdae, human-like Jongdae sleeping deeply, completely spread over the bed.

“Behold, the mighty guardian of Seom” - Minseok joked to himself. He sat at the side of the bed careful not to startle Jongdae out of his dream. He had never seen Jongdae sleeping like this before, not just because of his human appearance, but also looking so peaceful like he had never faced a struggle in his life.

Minseok couldn’t help himself, he stared at Jongdae for a second or two - more like minutes - from his long eyelashes and curled lips that even asleep he seemed to smile. Minseok swore that his skin and blonde hair were glowing under the faint light that crossed the room, there was no point on denying the obvious, Jongdae was beautiful, even in that first encounter where they insulted each other that thought crossed Minseok’s mind. But now that he had discovered more sides of the lonely fox, how he laughs, how he behaves with his friends and those he loves, he knows that there is even more beauty on him that only physically.

Minseok’s slim fingers caressed Jongdae’s soft hair right over his forehead, while the human’s mind wondered if Jongdae considered him a friend already if he had earned himself a spot - even if little - inside its heart. Or if the fox would ever consider him worthy of receiving such a gift. 

Jongdae breath hitched while opening his eyes slowly, when he saw Minseok caressing his hair he panicked a little inside. But when he realized the soft smile and tender eyes on the other, the fox couldn’t find a single reason to stop him. Jongdae relished himself in Minseok’s touches, on the sight of Minseok being there only for him, only looking at him while the sunlight kissed his brown hair.

The sunlight. Jongdae opened his eyes again, wide-open, looking at the window, expecting to hear what it was considered normal, what they should be hearing but weren’t. There was no rain falling against the glass.

“What is going on?” - Minseok asked realizing that Jongdae’s eyes were fixated on the rainless window. A ray of sunlight entered directly through it, making the wood floor shine in colors Minseok had never seen. The human couldn’t help it, he put his hand under the ray of sunlight, watching his skin shine, pale like porcelain due to the lack of sun.

Jongdae heard how Minseok’s breath stopped for a long second, while the human moved his hand under the light like it was magic. “Minseok….I…”

“How are you doing this?” - Minseok asked, his eyes teary from sheer emotion. 

“I don’t know” - Jongdae, still on the bed, looked at Minseok in awe. The light had moved slightly, and instead of Minseok’s hand now it was lighting up his face. The fox had always thought that Minseok was a handsome human, his sharp eyes and heart-shaped face made him look pure, even naïve, but he was witty and stubborn. Beautiful contrast in his opinion, as beautiful as Minseok’s brown eyes shining under the light against his pale eyelids. Jongade wanted to jump out of bed and hug Minseok, his body was aching for it, it scared and amazed Jongdae with the same intensity, but he didn’t have time to react due to Sehun loudly running across the house yelling.

“The rain has stopped!” - the Anemoi yelled.

“We know!” - Jongdae replied, a little pissed.

Right there, small beads of rainwater started falling against the glass. The curse was back.

“I’m sorry” - Jongdae whispered. 

“For what?” - Minseok asked back, puzzled. “Thank you.”

Jongdae tilted his head a little shocked by Minseok’s reaction, but before he could say anything Minseok explained himself. “This was the first time I saw direct sunlight, this was a gift, Jongdae. I don’t know how you did it, but thank you.” - Minseok grabbed Jongdae’s hand momentarily, to give him some reassurance. “Come downstairs when you are ready, Yixing is making pancakes.” - with a gummy smile, the human left the room.

Jongdae had to be sincere, at least with himself. He had a slight idea of what had just happened but admitting it was a scary step to take. The sudden rain break wasn’t his doing. It was Minseok’s doing.

It was Minseok’s effect on him. And that could only mean that he was about to repeat his past mistakes.

Not long after, Chanyeol and Baekhyun arrived at Minseok’s place too, as excited as the rest about the sunlight moment they had while walking Mongryong. Apparently, the whole city of Seom had noticed the change and while they shared pancakes Baekhyun narrated how people stepped out of their homes, in pajamas even, to feel the sun on their skins, almost like it was some religious experience. Even the dog was over-excited.

“Do you know how this was possible?” - Yixing asked to Jongdae.

“No idea” - Jongdae lied a little. “Maybe the curse it’s weakening on its own now that I’ve decided to fight again.”

Yixing thought about Jongdae’s comment, while the rest kept eating their breakfasts. “Is there any place in town where we can do some sort of research? I mean, there have to be some records about the begging of the curse…”

“In the Archive? It works as a library and an archive. Maybe we can find something there” - Minseok guessed. “I have tons of Seom’s tales here, my granny used to collect them, but nothing on the historic side.” -Minseok lamented.

“They may sound like legends but those stories actually happened. For example, I’m the dragon on the “Red Dragon Tale” - Chanyeol answered with pride in his voice.

“You are the dragon that fell over the city’s towers from the sky, destroyed them with his sheer weight and hid in a cave for a month after that?” - Baekhyun asked.

“Well, it was Sehun’s fault that I fell, and I certainly didn’t hide. I was worried that people might be angry at me and decided to wait for a while…” - he explained a little embarrassed.

“You don’t need my help for any of that, you had always been clumsy, Yeol” - Sehun laughed owning himself a punch in the arm from Chanyeol.

Trying to stop the upcoming fight between Sehun and Chanyeol, Yixing spoke again. “Let’s start there, maybe we can find something about where the marble is… Maybe even a map”

Not long after Yixing’s words, the whole group left the house. After the short sunlight moment, pouring rain came, bucket after bucket of cold water as if the clouds were reminding them that they were still cursed. The librarian didn’t look pleased by the large group of young men arriving at the archive slash library, and a soon as they were inside she - let’s say, amicably - pointed the “Don’t talk” sign hanging on her desk.  They split into smaller groups to search for any book or record that could be of help. Jongdae with Minseok, Baekhyun with Chanyeol and Yixing with Sehun. Yixing had been pretty clear about not leaving Sehun and Chanyeol together or the lady in charge would kick them out in the blink of an eye.

The books at the oldest section of the archive were dusty and their pages had acquired a yellowish tone but, at least, they were in good shape.

Each group grabbed a few that could be useful for their search and they met at the biggest table, at the center of the library. They moved the pages with care, trying not to tear them apart, searching and reading thoroughly each page but feeling discouraged after not finding anything at all.

“In most of these records the curse was already active, we need something older” - Baekhyun complained using his indoors voice tone.

“There is another archive, but you can’t take those books out of the building and only the librarian can give them to you” - Minseok said.

“Let Yixing talk with her” - Sehun suggested. “He always gets what he wants with that dimpled smile, and elder women adore him.”

Yixing cheeks reddened with Sehun’s words. “Let me try.” - he said, leaving the table to talk with the librarian. Sehun was apparently right, the stern-looking librarian even smiled at Yixing.  They didn’t really wait for long until Yixing came back with several tomes in his hands, heavy and ancient-looking books that had been left unused for several years given the thick layer of dust they wore. All of them grabbed at least one of the books and started digging into them, searching for any possible clue about the ship the marble was in when it sunk, or about when the curse started. It looked like this part of the search was going to end as fruitlessly as the previous one until Sehun let out a gasp that made the librarian shh at them.

“Look at this” - the Anemoi whispered as subtlely as he could. “This a navigation registry, it’s so old that some pages are unreadable, but here, they talk about a ship called Elyxion that sunk the same day the curse started.”

“Are you sure of that?” - Minseok asked, reading the registry Sehun was showing.

“Trust me, I remember that day to detail.”

“I don’t remember the ship’s name…” - Jongdae muttered looking at the pages. “I don’t even recall said ship but this signature here, on the departure note hours before it sunk...it’s his..” 

The entire group looked at Jongdae. Minseok felt winter spreading over his greenish eyes again, just exactly like he looked like when they met at the fox’s lair. The thought that popped up next inside Minseok’s brain made him wonder about their relationship. It has been weeks since they met each other yet Minseok wished to fight for him, for his happiness, as badly as if they had met years ago. As if they had been an entire life together. When Minseok’s hand, almost unconsciously, grabbed Jongdae’s one he saw a hint of joy in his curved lips. He won’t let Jongdae fall into winter ever again, from now own only spring will reign.

“Anyway” - Jongdae spoke again after a sigh, tired of everyone looking at him. “Does it says anything about the ship’s route?”

“Not in this registry” - Sehun whispered with a bored expression. “It ends right before that ship sunk.”

“Because the cursed started, and no ship has ever sailed since then… the sea is too dangerous” - Minseok reasoned.

“And also that’s why fish is so damn expensive in this place” - Baekhyun complained.

“Yixing, go ask the librarian about anything that could help us here” - Chanyeol rushed the druid.

“I don’t think so” - Yixing sighed. “She already told me that many of those books are confidential, only Seom’s Council have access to them, we can’t even take these ones out of the building” - he said pointing at the books scattered through the table.

“Well, we don’t need her. You know what we have to do, Chanyeol” - Sehun said to the dragon that nodded in return.

“What are you two up to?” - Jongdae asked a little concerned.

“We are going to start a fight inside the library, you and Minseok can sneak where the confidential books are and steal them.” - Sehun said really convinced that his words were absolutely right and logical.

But to Minseok they weren’t. “No, no, that’s a no, Sehun. I’m not stealing private property.”

“Come on, Seokkie” - Baekhyun said. “If we find the route the Elyxion followed we might find the marble. It’s the lesser of two evils. Plus it sound like fun, can I help?”

“Sure, just punch Chanyeol or something, his skin is a thick as his scales he won’t notice.” - Sehun answered with a sly smile.

“And what I am supposed to do?” - Yixing asked

“Well, you don’t like fights…” - Chanyeol explained

“Or to bother other people, yell, or being disrespectful even for the sake of a greater good. You are too lawful good for this plan so wait outside for us.” - Sehun said bluntly while Yixing mocked him a little pissed, even knowing that his words were right.

  
  
Sehun’s plan was a rather simple yet effective - or Minseok hoped so - one. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Sehun himself will start some random argument in the middle of the library so the librarian has to scold them, getting up from her worktable right in front of the entrance where the books they are looking for are. Minseok and Jongdae will sneak inside, as fast as they can, and search for something that could be of help, itineraries, registries… those kinds of books. Meanwhile, Yixing will anxiously wait outside, his arms surely crossed waiting to reprimand them for successfully stealing books. His moral speech will, with some luck, be the only price they’ll have to pay.

“Why are we following Sehun’s plan?” - Minseok whispered to Jongdae while they waited behind a tall bookcase until the librarian got up. Sehun’s and Chanyeol’s bickering had already started, the empty building echoed their insults to the max.

“Well, from time to time that airhead has nice ideas” - Jongdae shrugged. 

“Are you okay?” - Minseok asked after a few seconds where the ambiance was only filled with their friend’s fake bickering in the distance. “I mean when you saw that signature…”

“I knew that this could happen” - Jongdae sighed. “That if we investigated we could find memories of him somewhere. I just… I wasn’t prepared. But I’m glad to have you with me through this.” - Jongdae admitted getting his cheeks a little pink. 

“I’m glad too” - Minseok said without even thinking. To Minseok it looked like the small and scared fox that entered his house some weeks ago now trusted him, and it was the biggest prize the human could ask for. Now, even if the plan didn’t work out, he had gained something.“Not of stealing from a public library… but I’m glad that you trust me now”

Jongdae tilted his head while approaching his face to Minseok’s. For a second, the human swore that there was no other sound in the building, no more people around them. Just those green eyes and himself. Jongdae whispered directly into Minseok’s ear. “I trust you.”

Minseok saw, almost in slow motion, how Jongdae’s smile widened after whispering. The human felt a bolt in every muscle of his body asking him to hug the fox, to be even closer, to explain to the fox that, to Minseok, his smile had the same effect that the sunlight caressing his skin that same morning for the first time had. That the fox is like the Sun to him, shiny and inspiring, but right there they heard the librarian rosing up from her chair absolutely bewildered.

“Let’s go now” - Jongdae ushered Minseok by grabbing the human’s hand, almost running to the library’s section door.

When they entered, they discovered a poorly lighted room filled with books in glass cabinets. They were arranged by date and thematic, finding the correct ones shouldn’t be a hard task. Moving quickly, they read out loud every date tag until a suitable one showed up in front of them, inside the cabinet few old books; a population registry, some agricultural books alongside a port registry and a historiographic album.

“It’s here!” - Minseok claimed. “But the door is closed” - he said trying to open the glass door with sheer strength.

“Allow me” - Jongdae, in the blink of an eye, broke the glass cabinet with a punch, a glint of green gleaming in his eyes, glass shards everywhere.

“Jongdae!” - Minseok exclaimed looking at Jongdae’s bleeding hand. “Your hand!” 

“Don’t worry and grab the books. I may have lost many of my powers but I’m still a sacred fox, I’ll heal in no time.” - the fox exclaimed with a sorry smile.

Minseok kept thinking about the shards and Jongdae’s hand, but he did as he was told and grabbed the books from inside the cabinet. The next second both of them were already exiting the library section and running towards the building’s next exit where Yixing was waiting, clearly anxious.

“You got them?” - the druid asked as soon as he saw Jongdae. 

Minseok gave Yixing some of the heavy books as an answer and asked. “Where are the other three?”

“And don’t ever think to set a foot on my library ever again, punks” - Jongdae, Minseok, and Yixing heard from the outside.

Soon after, they heard a loud thump of a door closing and their three friends getting out of the building with the biggest and widest mischievous smiles ever seen.

“What did you three do?” - Yixing asked a little afraid of the answer.

“So, we started arguing as a joke. But then Baekhyun threw a book to my head” - Chanyeol complained caressing the spot where the book landed.

“For a dramatic effect” - Baekhyun shrugged. “And then Chanyeol threw me another book with his dragon strength that almost leaves me unconscious” - Baekhyun complained even louder.

“Well, it was in legitimate defense” - Chanyeol complained again. “And Sehun felt left out so he summoned the wind and made papers and books fly everywhere”

“You used your magic for this?!” - Yixing asked bewildered.

“For a dramatic effect” - Sehun said trying to contain his laugh.

“We should leave. If the librarian notices something missing she will chase us to hell” - Minseok added.

“She will notice the blood and glass shards at some point…” - Jongdae muttered.

“And you are injured?!” - Yixing asked still bewildered, on the verge of collapsing. “You are all going to kill me!”

The walk to Minseok’s house - or the Secret Base, like Baekhyun had renamed it - consisted mostly of hearing Yixing giving a long speech about morality, doing good things to the world and not giving the druid more disappointments. Especially that last one part.

When they arrived, they dedicated the rest of the day to read the books they’ve stolen. The fireplace was lit, and the light rain outside soothed the tension with the soft sound of drops falling against the windows. Eventually, night came, and one by one they started to fell asleep, Chanyeol took the guest bed, apparently, it was his turn. Sehun and Yixing had fallen asleep on the couch long ago and Baekhyun took Minseok’s bed since Minseok and Jongdae were still doing some reading well-lit thanks to the fire.

“What are you going to do first if you gain back your marble?” - Minseok asked to Jongdae after a while of silence filled only by the rain, the crackling wood and the sound of pages being turned.

“Send the clouds and the rain away, of course” - Jongdae answered with a smile that showed one of his long fangs. “After that, I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?” - Minseok asked leaving the book over his legs completely unattended.

“I don’t think Seom needs a protector anymore. The curse and the First Storm that raged the seas killed most of the monsters and menaces I used to fight… So I don’t know If I’ll have a job anymore.”

Minseok chuckled. “We are the same. If we found the marble and lift the curse I don’t think the store will do well.” They shared a long gaze and a chuckle until Minseok asked again. “How is your hand?”

Jongdae showed Minseok his hand, there were no scratches or injuries at sight, not even dried blood. “I told you, healed already.”

“I’m glad” - Minseok gifted Jongdae one of his sincere gummy smiles.”Don’t want to see you hurt.” - At that moment, a thought that never occurred to Minseok took home in his brain straining the threads of his heart. What if this adventure ended up with an injured Jongdae? What if any of them ends up injured? Or something even worse.

“What’s wrong?” - Jongdae asked, seeing Minseok’s sudden change of expression his hand moved to Minseok’s cheek without even thinking about it.

“I’ve never thought about how dangerous this could actually be” - Minseok said, a little ashamed of his naïvety while his cheeks almost burned under Jongdae’s touch. “You were right when you called me naïve”

“I know” - Jongdae joked a little, owning an eye roll from his favorite human. “But it’s part of your charm.”

Minseok realized then how close they were, how intimate everything looked around them, almost like they were alone in the entire island. Jongdae’s hand didn’t move from Minseok’s cheek, Jongdae felt how his eyes started to get heavy, his entire body aching. Aching for the plump lips he had right in front, so inviting, a source of constant desire. When Minseok moved forward and pressed those same lips on Jongdae’s the fox felt that everything was right in the world, that he was invincible, that nothing could reach him or his current happiness even if they tried. Minseok fitted perfectly into his arms, were the human gladly stayed the rest of the night, sharing long sloppy kisses until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Nobody noticed, it was a dark night and too late for anyone to be looking at the sky, but for an entire night, it didn’t rain a single drop.


	4. Underwater reflections

“If this is correct, this is the Elyxyon’s route before it sank. So, it remains should be around this craggy area” - Yixing explained while pointing things on a map over Minseok’s kitchen table the next morning while everyone else listened to him having breakfast. “That’s the first thing I had to tell all of you.”

“So the first thing isn’t Minseok and Jongdae waking up together cuddling like two lovebirds?” - Sehun asked while Jongdae gave him a resounding slap on the nape of his neck. To his dismay, his blushing cheeks were an answer enough to the Anemoi, that kept laughing even after the hit. 

Minseok and Jongdae didn’t say a word about the topic. They woke up that morning, still hugging each other while trying to open their eyes, between giggles and a few soft smooches Sehun scoffs woke them up entirely. Minseok was sure that he had been blushing the entire morning even when Jongdae wasn’t around him.

“And the second thing” - Yixing kept talking trying to change topics. “That’s the same area where the First Storm was born, so I’m guessing that is not an easy place to reach.”

“First Storm?” - Baekhyun asked with his mouth full of food and the strongest bed hair. “You keep talking about that but I don’t know what it is.”

“When my mother cast the cursed over Seom she did it in the form of a storm. Those who were alive to witness it call it the First Storm, the one who started it all.” - Jongdae explained.

“It was a super violent event, I couldn’t control the wind for days” - Sehun said with an annoyed expression. “The rest of magical beings had to hide or perish”

“I had to hide for weeks until lighter rains started falling, I really can’t stand water” - Chanyeol grimaced.

“Seom hasn’t seen a storm like that ever again, but it’s core it’s still active. An incredible amount of magic emanates from this part of the sea.” - Yixing explained to the other two humans. “So we can guess that the curse uses Jongdae’s marble as the epicenter.”

“So if we took back the marble from the ship remains the curse will stop?” - Minseok asked. “It sounds way too easy.”

“It’s not that easy to get there, the cliffs and scraggy terrain are hard enough, and overall you’ll have to fight the especially adverse climate” - Jongdae pointed out. “And after that a long dive in whirlwind waters.”

“A suicide” - Chanyeol said.

“But there has to be a way. Haven’t you tried to reach that place before?” - Minseok asked the fox.

“Many times. Sehun had to take me out of the water with his powers before I drowned for good” - Jongdae confessed.

“Maybe I’m being naïve but, we have a dragon, a wind deity, a druid and a sacred fox, is there anything we can do?” - Baekhyun asked.

“Druids aren’t wizards. I can create a potion to protect you from drowning or to allow you to breathe underwater but nothing else” - Yixin excused himself.

“Dragons are fire creatures” - Chanyeol complained.

“My powers near that place are weaker, I can’t make promises” - Sehun shrugged.

“I’m literally powerless, Baekhyun, that’s the whole point of this search.” - Jongdae reminded him.

“What a bunch of useless magical weirdos” - Baekhyun facepalmed himself. “Don’t you guys have friends with some water affinity? Like a mermaid or something?” 

Suddenly the entire room looked to Sehun that had started coughing violently.

“Sehun had once an especial friend that was a mermaid” - Chanyeol confessed with a mischievous laugh that made Sehun glance at him.

“That’s a dead end. Junmyeon won’t talk to me” - Sehun shrugged.

“Why is that?” - Baekhyun asked with a sarcastic tone. “Did he left you for another mermaid?”

“No!” - Sehun answered exasperatedly. “We had an argument centuries ago and we haven’t talked since. And he wasn’t my boyfriend!” 

“Wow, really? Centuries?!” - Minseok realized.

“Yeah, Sehun is sensitive, okay? And Junmyeon was angry at Jongdae for doing his work, basically killing monsters, and asked Sehun to stop talking to the fox” - Chanyeol explained giving a loving pat to Sehun’s back. “Sehun said no and Junmyeon got mad.”

“Junmyeon is also King of the Seas, not a common mermaid. So anytime Sehun goes near water Junmyeon knows it and sends waves to drag him away” - Jongdae kept explaining.

“What did you do to enrage the King of the Seas?” - Minseok asked puzzled out.

“Long story short: every sea creature it’s like his children, and I killed MANY sea serpents, Adaros, and a Capricorn or two back in the day. In my defense, it was my job, and they were eating innocent humans and destroying their boats. Also, he used to be the only one able to enrage or calm the seas and my mother took that power from him. Right now, he must feel pretty powerless, just like me.” - Jongdae explained. “Summarizing: he hates us.”

“But especially Sehun” - Chanyeol added.

“But what If I talked to him?” - Minseok asked. “Maybe he doesn’t want to speak to you both but I’m just a human”

“The curse has damaged the seabed greatly, he won’t leave his underwater fortress so easily.” 

“Then you just need a bait” - Baekhyun added, looking at Sehun. “If the mermaid hates Sehun so much you just have to put him near the sea, at some point he will show up, probably furious, but whatever” - Baekhyun shrugged up.

“That could work, actually” - Yixing said thinking about Baekhyun’s idea. “We need Junmyeon to listen to us if using Sehun as bait is the only way I say let’s give it a try.”

“You say that because you are not the bait!” - Sehun complained loudly. “Is no one going to think about me?”

“Like you said when we stole the books, it’s the lesser evil” - Minseok chuckled.

For the first time since Minseok knows Sehun, the Anemoi had no words to fight back, so he simply crossed his arms over his chest with a big pout on his lips. Jongdae and Chanyeol tried to lift his mood up, but he kept on being stubborn while the rest prepared backpacks and raincoats for the short trip to the shore. Chanyeol and Yixing decided to wait for them at Minseok’s place, but the druid packed up several potions and ointments prepared by himself, he explained carefully what each of those shining bottles does: the green one is to prevent drownings, the purple to swim faster, and the yellowish one to breathe underwater.

“I’m sorry I can’t go, but I’ll just be a bother there. Fire creatures can’t swim” - Chanyeol said with a sorry voice and concerned eyes, hugging Sehun and Jongdae at the same time in his long strong arms. 

“It’s okay, Yeol” - Jongdae encouraged him, “Look up at the sky, when you see no rain you’ll know that everything is over”

“If that happens I’ll fly to the shore to meet up with all of you. Baekhyun and the druid on my back!” - he said with the biggest smile on his face. Sehun won’t admit it, but he smiled too in spite of his stubborn mood.

Minseok, Jongdae, and Sehun said goodbye to Yixing, Baekhyun and Chanyeol, that waved and shouted to encourage them from Minseok’s backyard. Minseok saw Baekhyun trying to hide nervous tears when they were about to leave, so instead meaningful words they simply hugged each other. Neither of them thought that words were needed, they’ve been together for so long that reading each other’s mind it’s an instinct. As soon as the three figures disappeared in the distance, Baekhyun’s droopy eyes stared at the grey cloud over his head, wishing that this was the last time he sees them.

Almost as if the clouds were listening to their plans, the weather worsened heavily the closer they got to Seom’s shore. Usually, the northern side of the island is the steepest one, full of tall cliffs and crags, but the southern side has a rather famous precipice. The Death Coast is - accurately - called like that due to the number of ships that have sunk there even in favorable weather conditions. You can even see the remains of the biggest one surfacing from the water from far away, helping create the legend that this is some sort of forbidden place where the ghosts of sailors roam around trying to haunt nosy travelers. Minseok is not thrilled to go there, being absolutely honest, but in Sehun’s expert opinion, Junmyeon’s fortress is close to the Death Coast, so it will be easier to get the mermaid out. 

The thunder and heavy rain weren’t exactly of help when trying to climb some rocks to reach the crags, Minseok slipped in several occasions, but every single time he had Jongdae’s hand close to grab. They haven’t talked about what happened last night and that was a conversation Minseok wanted to have, but one he wasn’t able to start. A giddy tickle took control over him every time he dares to think about his feelings, about Jongdae’s lips on his own so soft, kissable, inviting…

Thinking about kissing Jongdae wasn’t either the best idea while walking around sheer terrain and very pointy looking rocks, Minseok concluded after almost slipping again.

Not long after, Sehun announced that the stroll had ended. Much to the Anemoi’s dismay, his words turned out to be true: as soon as - after a long tired sigh - Sehun placed his feet inside the cold salty water the waves enraged. The sea, already fierce without Sehun’s presence, looked like an absolute nightmare like Sehun was made of some poison. The waves overlapped, there was foam everywhere like the sea had rabies and changed it’s color to a deep grey that didn’t foretell anything good.

“He is coming” - Jongdae said. With care, he put his arm right in front of Minseok like a shield. Junmyeon is a powerful creature and a very clever one, but he is also passionate and has been angry at Sehun for many many years. None of them were one hundred percent sure of what the mermaid will do as soon as he stepped out of the water.

The pearly foam formed a seat above the wild waves, that calmed down gradually and even changed their color to a dreamy turquoise Minseok had never seen before. To him, the ocean had always been grey, and occasional black during the night and especially bad storms.

A mermaid sat atop of the foamy seat, looking at them from above while the water played whit his scales and fishtail.

He was outstanding in the way only a mermaid could be. His hot pink hair and tail stood out against the purity of the foam. Junmyeon wore golden and pearly chains on his neck and a stern face, his brown eyes glared at Sehun with disdain.

“I must say that I’m impressed” - Junmyeon started talking. His voice was melodious to the ear, but his annoyance was so clear that it almost hi d the melody completely. “Not only you dare to show up after all this time, but you show up with the goddamn fox. You have some nerve, Sehun.”

“Junmyeon we didn’t come here to argue about us. We need your help” - Sehun said straight to the point. The usual sassy and witty Sehun was nowhere to be seen, Minseok had never seen Sehun so affected by the mere presence of anyone. He must have loved Junmyeon deeply.

After a short, genuine laughter Junmyeon answered. “Now I’m impressed. You two? My help? Even If I could help you, you know I won’t, Sehun.”

“But, will you help a human?” - Minseok asked, taking a step closer to Junmyeon. The mermaid tilted his head, noticing the human for the first time. Minseok realized that he was speaking to some sort of supernatural royalty and probably overstepping on some boundaries, Jongdae’s firm grab on his arm also stated that, but Minseok felt the urge to take action. Now that the end seemed so close he wasn’t going to restrain himself.

“You brought a human here to beg in your place? That’s low even for you two” - Junmyeon laughed again. 

“But will you?” - Minseok insisted not taking his eyes away from Junmyeon.

With a sly smile, Junmyeon answered. “I’m not a genie, I won’t grant you three wishes, human. I don’t know what these two told you about me, but it wasn’t true probably.”

“Junmyeon” - Jongdae spoke out of the blue, tired of the drama. “We know how to stop the curse.”

Junmyeon now looked at Jongdae with curious eyes instead of his previous cold glace. “What could you possibly know that I don’t?”

“We know where the ship sunk” - Jongdae kept telling the mermaid.

Junmyeon chuckled. “I already knew that. My folk and I have been trying to reach that damn shipwreck for ages. But every time we got closer...It’s like the ship has some sort of magical barrier around it. We can’t cross it.”

“But I can” - Jongdae stated. “That’s the marble doing, she’s the core of the curse”

“I know” - Junmyeon agreed. “Down there your marble causes whirlpools, cyclones, and underwater storms. It’s a nightmare, and the closer to the shipwreck the darkest the nightmare is. It’s nearly impossible to get close to the marble, and no mermaid of these waters will help you get there.”

Minseok looked at how Jongdae’s expression sulked. The confidence he had been wearing the whole day slowly vanishing after Junmyeon’s words. It was unfair that the merfolk judged him like this for doing his job, but there was no use in arguing that now. Minseok took a few steps closer to the mermaid, there was no way that now that he was so close he would simply give up. As Baekhyun would say, there’s no one more stubborn in Seom.

“What if instead of Jongdae was me?” - Minseok asked with a serious face. “No Sehun, no Jongdae, just me, a human”

“No!” - Jongdae yelled, the grip on Minseok’s arm growing stronger “Minseok, it’s too dangerous for a human to go down there. If you got injured underwater it could be fatal for you.”

“But Junmyeon doesn’t want any of you near his people, so it has to be me!” - Minseok explained.

“Minseok, we’ll find another way”

“Don’t you see it?” - Minseok asked, caressing Jongdae’s cheek to ease him. “There’s no other way. We need Junmyeon’s expertise underwater, and if you died down there the marble would never have an owner again, the curse will be eternal. If I die down there, well, there are more humans.”

“Don’t” - Jongdae’s eyes went frantic. “Don’t ever say that again. You are the only human for me. You are my human.”

“The more reason for me to do this” - Minseok said with a little smile. “I’ll be back, I promise.”

“Junmyeon” - Jongdae said suddenly after hearing Minseok’s words. “Can I pay the price in his place?”

“As long as someone pays, I don’t care” - Junmyeon shrugged. “But are you sure that this human will be able to get there?” - he asked. “I mean, he is just a human.”

“If there’s someone able to go through the darkest part of my power...that’s him.” - Jongdae answered leaving a soft peck on Minseok’s head.

Minseok blushed, not only for the peck but because of Jongdae’s words, they oozed trust, and that’s all Minseok wanted since the beginning. Even when the human didn’t know that that injured little fox was Seom’s guardian. Then, he realized. “Wait, what payment are you talking about.?”

“Everyone must pay a price to cross into another realm like you are about to do.” - Sehun explained. “The one who must collect the payment is the Guardian of said realm. Jongdae used to have that duty too.”

“And what’s the price?” - Minseok asked both curious and afraid.

“It can be whatever, but it needs to hold value for the one paying.” - Junmyeon simply said. “So, what could the powerless Golden Fox be willing to give as payment.”

“I don’t have much left.” - Jongdae agreed. “But I still have my voice.”

“No!” - Minseok yelled. “That’s your only power left, you can’t give that.”

“For you? Of course, I can” - Jongdae sweetly smiled. “It’s been a long time since I used it as a weapon to scare monsters away, and if you succeed, and I know you will, I’ll have the rest of my powers back, no big deal.”

“Are you sure about this?” - Junmyeon asked, a little puzzled that Jongdae was willing to give away his only power left.

“I’m sure. Proceed.” - Jongdae nodded looking at Junmyeon. “Minseok, before I can’t talk to you anymore, I’ll be waiting for you here. I trust you.”

Right after Jongdae’s words left his mouth a white blinding light started shining right over Jongdae’s throat, it left Jongdae to fell on Junmyeon’s hand that secured the light inside a seashell. The King of the Seas had received the payment.

“I’ll be back with the marble” - Minseok said, cupping Jongdae’s face between his hands. “Just wait for me, I’ll end this for you.”

Jongdae nodded eagerly. Even if he couldn’t talk, Minseok saw trust and admiration inside his eyes. The short kiss they shared before Minseok had to leave his side was enough to replenish the human strength and courage.

“I’m shocked that you are actually helping us” - Sehun said to Junmyeon.

“I’m not dumb, Sehun. If this human is really able to cross the barrier to the marble then that’s a great chance for my people too.” - Junmyeon showed up his tail, rising up its end from the water. At the caudal fin, where it should be two ends only one was made of hot pink scales like the rest of his tail, the other was a prosthetic fin, made of some shiny metal. “I only had to pay this price for living with the curse, others had to pay much more. Even their lives.”

“I’m ready” - Minseok said, interrupting their conversation.

“Grab my hand and leave here your shoes and backpack. I’ll use my magic on you so you’ll breathe underwater.” - Junmyeon said while the foam started to vanish and the waters returned to the usual greyish color.

Minseok grabbed Junmyeon’s cold and wet hand. While he walked into the waters he turned around to give one last glance to Jongdae. 

The fox only nodded at him, and Minseok knew: he had to finish this, whatever the cost.

  
  


* * *

  
  


From all the things Minseok had hoped to see in his life, an underwater realm was none of them. Not because he wouldn’t want to, but because he didn’t know they existed. Fair enough, not so long ago he doubted the existence of the Golden Fox too.  Junmyeon turned back to look at him, his face way more amicably than before, giving to his face a soft aura that somehow, fitted him greatly. With a twirl of his hand, Minseok felt an incredible pain growing on the sides of his neck. When he touched his skin there were gills at each side of his neck, and his feet now had some membrane between his fingers, allowing him to swim better and faster.

“Thank you” - he said, not realizing at first that he was talking and breathing underwater. He laughed as soon as he realized, letting a thousand bubbles emanate from his mouth.

“Grab my hand, we’ll be faster this way, you still swim like a human” - the mermaid lightly complained. Minseok did as he was told and grabbed Junmyeon’s hand, the mermaid was clearly faster and skilled in the art of swimming. Minseok had never thought of swimming as an art, but after watching Junmyeon, he was sure that it deserved the title, the way his scales shined while he moved was mesmerizing, but so it was the city rising ahead of them.

They reached the underwater city not long after, Sehun was right, it was close from the Death Coast. Formed by rock and coral buildings in every color you could imagine it made a great contrast against the devastated seabed, destroyed by the constant effect of the marble’s power were not even algae could find a proper home. Junmyeon guided them directly to the biggest building the city, probably the fortress Sehun mentioned, and when they entered - through a window guarded by several armed mermaids - Junmyeon let go of Minseok’s hand.

“What was your name, human?” - Junmyeon asked when he reached a seat in a circular room atop of the fortress.

“Minseok” - he answered shortly. “This place is… I would never think that something like this could exist in Seom.” - Minseok explained agape, looking at the ceiling decorated with pearls and golden coral. The lamps were shaped as jellyfish and the columns imitated the scales of a mermaid tail, it was like straight out of a fairytale. 

“I will take that as a compliment” - Junmyeon nodded. “Well, I’ll choose one of our greatest racers to accompany you to the shipwreck and…”

“Junmyeon! Junmyeon is true that you went to the surface?!” - a loud voice interrupted them, Minseok soon found out the source of the voice. Another mermaid, with green hair and a beautiful emerald tail, the green shades complemented his tanned skin beautifully. “You went to the surface without telling me?” 

“It wasn’t a long visit!” - Junmyeon spoke back. “And look, I brought a human with me.”

The emerald tailed mermaid turned around to look at Minseok with shocked eyes, emitting some excited noises. The human swore that the mermaid had stars on his eyes shining with the excitement to see an actual human. “A human! My name is Jongin! I’m Jun’s brother!” - Jongin swam around Minseok, scanning him. “It’s so weird, he has no tail! Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” - he said covering his mouth with a hand. 

“No offense taken” - Minseok said with a soft chuckle, Jongin was endearing.

“Well, as I was saying” - Junmyeon spoke again. “I’ll choose one racer, you won’t be able to raffle every whirlpool and cyclone on your own.”

“A racer?” - Minseok asked,

“That’s how we call the mermaids that train to reach the shipwreck and the marble. They are fast, brave and determined to end the curse. If you were born with a tail you’d have been one of them, I’m sure” - Junnyeom explained.

“Wait” - Jongin said. “You are sending this human to the shipwreck? He will die!”

“I talked to the fox, Nini. He says that Minseok should be able to cross the barrier” 

Jongin looked at Minseok again, with curious eyes but in a different way than before. “He must be special then. Choose me, Jun. You know I’m the fastest, and I’ve been there before.”

“I wish I could do this myself” - Junmyeon said with a bitter voice and sad look to his tail. “But I trust you and your skills as if they were my own gills” - Junmyeon nodded to his brother, that had changed his soft demeanor for a serious and resolute expression. “Equip the human properly and leave before nighttime.”

Junmyeon wasn’t precise about what “equip the human” would possibly be, so Minseok had to trust Jongin with the task. The mermaid handed him a helmet, a chest guard, and arm protection, all of them resembled scales, fins, and the membranes Minseok had developed after Junmyeon’s magic. Jongin excused himself several times for not having leg protections for humans and explained Minseok the origin of the mysterious metal they were made of. Orichalcum, as Jongin explained, a metal only found in the depths of the sea. It glowed like pure gold, but at the same time felt light while wearing it. The merfolk calls it Poseidon’s Gift. 

Next, Jongin showed the way to Minseok, and how they were going to surpass every single whirlpool pointing on an old map alongside exaggerated explanations with his arms and tail as special effects. Minseok didn’t take too long to discover that Jongin was indeed a sweet person, but also terribly passionate and effusive. Baekhyun would love him.

“You just have to hold onto me. Don’t fall or I won’t be able to get you back, clear?” - Jongin asked.

Minseok nodded while a strong knot started forming inside his throat and stomach. Jongin looked so sure, so confident, it wasn’t the first time he was doing this, and it was more than clear that it was Minseok’s first. The human couldn’t help the tension rising inside of his system flooding him as much as he couldn’t control the trembling on his legs.

Minseok really tried to calm himself, to breathe some air - well, water - and ease himself. But everything that had been happening for the last month in his life had disrupted his peace greatly. Even if he had always wanted to destroy the curse and live a normal life under the sun, he had never expected this. Dragons, foxes, and mermaids. Betrayals, heartbreak and eternal rains. His heartbeat with love as much as it bled concern.

His life was upside down and he was now underwater. 

“Don’t worry, I’m a great swimmer, Minseok” - Jongin said grabbing the human’s tense hand. “You’ll be back to the surface in no time”

Minseok nodded again. “Thanks, Jongin. I always wanted this, you know? I know I look nervous, but I always dreamed of the end of the curse, and now…”

“And now that you stare at the abyss the abyss stares back at you.” - Jongin nodded. “It’s okay. You are not alone in this. You have me and I’m sure that you have a lot of people waiting for you at the surface.”

Jongin was right. And Minseok knew it. 

The betrayal that started it all sounded less aggravating with Sehun, Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s constant bickering and laughs, the heartbreak looked possible to amend thanks to Yixing’s dimpled cheeks, and the eternal rains seemed to have an end on Jongdae’s smile. On that sunny smile that could scare the darkest clouds away.

Minseok sighed, trying to get out his own fears. Maybe his fears were still there, but he has to overcome them. For him, for Seom. For Jongdae.“Let’s do this, Jongin.”

“That’s the determination I like to see!” - Jongin cheerfully laughed. “By the way, if this ends up well… can you invite me to the surface? I always wanted to go there but my brother is a little against it…”

“Jongin, if we do this well you can stay at my place for as long as you want.”

Jongin’s face lightened up like a lantern in a festival. “Now I’m even more motivated!”

Both of them laughed in unison when Junmyeon showed up again. “May I speak with the human for a second?” - he asked his brother that nodded happily.

“I’ll wait for you outside, don’t make me wait!”

Junmyeon and Minseok watched how Jongin left the room when Junmyeon spoke again. “Have this.” - he said handing Minseok a white tulip shell. “If something goes wrong, scream into it. I trust my brother, but humans aren’t made for this realm.”

“What will happen if I scream?” - Minseok asked looking at the shell.

“It doesn’t matter, just do it” - Junmyeon said with a rather severe tone. 

“Thanks, Junmyeon” - Minseok said to the mermaid while leaving the room. “And thanks for helping us too.”

“I’m helping my people, that’s all”

“Tell that to yourself” - Minseok dared to say with one of his gummy smiles. The mermaid didn’t answer back, but the soft blush on his cheeks was answer enough. Just a minute after, Minseok held onto Jongin’s back just as the emerald mermaid instructed him, the fact that mermaids were bigger than regular humans was of some help. 

When Jongin started swimming Minseok understood why they were called racers instead of just swimmers or something like that. Jongin wasn’t swimming at all, he was drilling into the water, every movement of his emerald tail left behind a trail of immense bubbles. It was too fast for Minseok to realize how close they were to the whirlpools, he had to close his eyes for most of the ride until Jongin shouted.

“Grab yourself, we are going to cross a whirl!” 

Minseok did as told a grabbed Jongin’s harness a little tighter, but even so, he wasn’t at all prepared for what was about to come. The area around the mermaid town had looked devastated to Minseok, but even there some algae and corals made their best effort to grow, nevertheless here where the underwater storms and whirlpools did their own thing, the seabed turned into a wasteland where nothing except the remnants of ships lived.  Jongin turned several times, dodging whirl after whirl, swimming under the enraged waves as if he was born to do it. Minseok could hear thunder falling on the surface of the water, leaving flashes of electricity that shined between waves. 

“Look, that’s the ship!” - Jongin shouted again, pointing at the rest of a vessel. The rests were nothing more than rotting wood and fabric, probably from the sails. It was impossible to discern what part of the ship it was by just how it looked. “The marble is inside! You’ll have to go there by yourself!” 

“Myself?!” - Minseok asked bewildered looking at the distance between them and the ship.

“I’ll get as close as I can, but the barrier won’t let me in!” - Jongin said again. Minseok had noticed that the mermaid had started swimming slower. He didn’t look tired, more like he was the victim of some sort of unnatural pressure against his body.

_ I…believe...how... irresponsible... _

“What was that voice?” 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


On the surface, time seemed to go slower every minute that passed by. Jongdae and Sehun waited, sitting on some rocks trying to shelter from the heavy rain. Jongdae’s ears and tail were as flat as a sheet, he was way too nervous for Minseok and too depressed about his voice to care about showing any other emotions. 

This wasn’t his first time losing something he had taken for granted; his powers, his tails, his status… even his first love. Everything he had cared for.  But none of those losses could compare to the idea of losing the tiny human that was now fighting in his place.

“Don’t even think about it” - Sehun muttered looking at Jongdae. “I know what you are thinking and you have no right.”

Jongdae’s ears moved while he tilted his head towards Sehun, had the Anemoi went crazy?

“He is fighting for everyone, Minseok will be back. Don’t you dare think that he will die” - Sehun scolded Jongdae. Truth is, Jongdae’s trust hasn’t waved a single inch since Minseok left to the underwater realm with Junmyeon, but the thought, of course, crossed his mind. To be fair, it wouldn’t leave his mind and it scares the fox greatly.

Minseok, all by his own had fixed every sentiment of betrayal Jongdae had still inside, the heartbreak and now he was aiming to fix the eternal rains,  _ Unironically _ , Jongdae thought,  _ Minseok is Seom’s Guardian. _

Every meal they had together, Minseok’s angry face the first time they talked, the human’s sweet voice while reading a tale… the way Minseok scrunches his nose while yawning when he wakes up…

No, there is no way Minseok dies today.

“Maybe we should move. If the tide goes up it will shallow us” - Sehun suggested, but Jongdae only denied with his head. Sehun sighed, a little relieved seeing that the fox tail had gained some life after the scolding. “Chanyeol is going to cry when he hears that you have no voice.” - to that, Jongdae smiled, at least. “Don’t worry about Minseok, he will be alright. He is stubborn, and loves you too much for his own good”

Jongdae blushed heavily at Sehun’s words making the Anemoi burst with laughter. “What? You haven’t realized?” - Sehun kept laughing,

Jongdae cocked an eyebrow and pointed to the sea, reminding Sehun of his situation with Junmyeon. “Shut up! There’s no way we could ever… and he wasn’t my boyfriend back then!” - Jongdae smiled widely this time, his long fangs showing. “For being mute, you talk too much” - Sehun complained with a dramatic eye roll. 

Right there, a thunder fell right into the ocean far away from the coast where Jongdae and Sehun had been waiting for the last couple of hours. 

“That’s weird” - Sehun said, and right after, another one, and a third one, all of them following each other getting further from the coast. “And that’s even weirder” - Sehun said standing up when he realized that Jongdae wasn’t following.

Jongdae, right behind Sehun, was crouching over himself, one of his hands over the center of his center, with an expression of deep pain. He was clearly suffering, even without emitting a single noise. Every thunder that crashed on the sea felt like a nail being hammered on his own heart, someone was getting closer to the marble. Probably Minseok.

Jongdae used all of his strength to walk towards the seashore, glaring at the sea hoping to see something, a glimpse a signal that none of those killer thunders had landed on Minseok’s head. 

“Jongdae!” - Sehun yelled, getting to Jongdae’s level and hugging him. “Are you okay? What do you feel? Why I am asking, you can’t answer!” - he blamed himself.

Jongdae pointed to his chest. It must look like a heart attack from the outside, but actually Jongdae was feeling like something was attempting to break outside his body, like the nails the thunder hammered were attempting to open his heart, menacing with breaking his bones and flesh in the process. 

“Minseok will be here soon with the marble” - Sehun tried to ease his hyperventilating friend. “Don’t worry, Dae, don’t worry.”

Jongdae looked at Sehun, trying to reassure him that he could endure this pain and more, but then his thoughts proved to be false. The last thing Jongdae saw was Sehun’s panicking face under the rain.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“I can’t go further!” - Jongin yelled to Minseok still holding onto the mermaid’s back. “I’ll throw you right into the barrier” 

“Thanks, Jongin!” - Minseok yelled back hoping that the mermaid had listened to him,

They were swimming above the shipwreck when Jongin turned around to let Minseok fall over it. To Minseok, the whole barrier thing felt weird because he wasn’t feeling anything at all, but while falling he witnessed how Jongin placed his hand over some sort of glass between them. It was very real, at least for him, but for Minseok it wasn’t.  The closer to the ship, the less rough the tides and the sea were and the louder he could hear the feminine voice. At first, it was a distant whisper, a remote call, but now Minseok felt it as close as if someone were talking directly to him. 

_ I can’t believe how irresponsible you were _

_ That wasn’t your duty _

At first, it was the voice of a woman.

_ It’s like giving you my whole heart. _

But the last one was Jongdae’s, there was no doubt about it. Minseok started swimming - even if it was human-style - towards Jongdae’s voice. He knew that it was impossible for Jongdae to be down there, he had left the fox on the surface. But something inside Minseok called for him to move towards it, the core of the curse was calling his name like a mantra. When he reached the surface of the ship, the old and partially rotted wood gave up as soon as Minseok let his weight fall against it, making Minseok fall under a pile of wood and fabric at the bottom of the seabed.

It took him a few minutes to get up, moving around several pieces of sails and wood, until he realized that he was indeed inside the shipwreck.

He looked around and saw nothing but death. Corpses so old that only the bones remained, the curse had left them to lay there forgotten forever, in a pitch-black spot under cursed water. Not even algae grew there, it was a doomed place. 

_ It’s like giving you my whole heart. _

Minseok turned around when he heard Jongdae’s voice again. The same words, the same tender voice. Something inside Minseok broke a little at the thought that he might not hear it ever again. The voice came from behind him, inside a cabin. The door was closed, so Minseok had to jump against the door, so many times that he could feel a humongous bruise growing on his side, but when the door gave up he forgot instantly about it.

There it was, the marble. Round and golden, shimmering like a wishing star, in the bony hands of a corpse. Looking at the bones and the little remains of clothes, Minseok wondered if that corpse once belonged to a certain human that betrayed Jongdae. Minseok wondered if the bones in front of him were from the person that started it all. The corpse must be the person that run away with Jongdae’s heart.

_ I can’t believe how irresponsible you were _

In front of his eyes, the figure of a woman showed up, blurry by the effect of water, but beautiful nonetheless. She emitted a powerful aura, like a goddess. Minseok had never seen someone that emitted such kind of aura, not even Sehun that was a lower deity had it. Watching her reflection on the marble made Minseok uneasy like he was having a glimpse of a world he is not allowed to enter.

“Jongdae’s mother” - Minseok whispered realizing that he was watching memories. Jongdae’s memories.

_ Falling in love with a human? That’ wasn’t your duty, Jongdae. _

Minseok felt the words like they were aimed directly at him. He felt the despair, the hurt, the treason. Like a bullet to the heart. Minseok moved fast, not wanting to hear more, but when he touched the marble it burned his skin, forcing him to let it where it was before it pierced his hand.

_ I want you to have it. _

_ Are you sure, Dae? _

_ Yes, it’s like giving you my whole heart. _

“No, no, no” - Minseok said out loud in the depths of the sea, he wasn’t ready to witness how Jongdae got betrayed, he didn’t want to hear how another human could have had it all from him and choose to betray his heart. Minseok wasn’t ready to see the wound that had been tormenting Jongdae for decades, but the marble kept talking, kept showing Minseok the darkest corners of Jongdae’s heart. “Jongdae gave you his whole heart and you threw it away…” - Minseok said to the corpse. “About time that you free him.”

Minseok put his whole hand again over the marble. His skin burned, he even heard a sizzling sound that should be impossible underwater, but curses are meant to be inconceivable. 

“Give it back to Jongdae!” - Minseok yelled while trying to release the marble from the dead hand. His own hand hurt like hell, but there was no way he could release the marble now, not now that he was so close to ending it all. To end the rain, to end the grey skies and unnavigable seas. To finish with his boring and monotone life. To end with Jongdae’s sadness and guilt. With a profound and plaintive yell, Minseok used all of his strength to pull out the marble from the corpse. He used so much force that when he actually freed the marble he fell backward over himself.

His hand was wasted, burned down to the muscle and it hurt even more now that the marble was cold, but there it was, the golden and round jewel. He heard a grumble starting around him, the wood was creaking loudly, threatening with falling down on Minseok. Then, the human realized that he couldn’t move as he did before, the membranes had vanished, and he needed to breathe. 

He had no gills anymore.

In a quick movement, Minseok drew out the shell from inside his chest guard and with his last breathing he screamed into the shell. The waters dyed itself with a red explosion of color when the scream finished.

Minseok was too busy trying to survive to realize the hot pink gleam that reached him seconds before he had used the shell, pushing him out of the ship.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Jongdae”

“Jongdae”

“Sehun?” - Jongdae asked still not awaken completely. He surprised himself with the sound of his voice, he even touched his throat, one way or another he had retrieved it. But Jongdae knew better than to just hope that a miracle had made his voice return, whoever gave it back to him must want something from him.

“We haven’t talked in almost a century and you mistake my voice for that low wind deity? How rude”

“Two centuries” - Jongdae answered, waking up to face the figure of his mother. As heavenly looking as always, golden aura, blank expression. Probably bored and scheming her next great plan for humanity or whatever.

It wasn’t his first time here, in the Mind Realm were his mother and him used to talk centuries ago. His mother’s real presence on Seom, or the Planet, would be unbearable for any living form, she had always been way too powerful. Luckily for everyone, the Sun Goddess is tied by ancestral pacts and rules with other gods and the stars themselves, and won’t put a foot on it, too low for her.

But there, on the Realm of Jongdae's mind, even if everything feels like a weird, unsettling dream it’s very real. The fact that Jongdae’s mother had summoned his consciousness there must mean that something great is about to happen. Probably something she doesn’t approve of.

“Time is senseless to me” - she explained without caring at all. “You know why I brought you here?”

“I don’t know” - Jongdae said. 

“As always.” - his mother chuckled. “My best creation, my son, my pride, repeating the same mistake twice. What are you, a human?”

“Maybe I am.” - Jongdae answered. “I’ve been living almost as powerless as one anyway.”

“Don’t sass at me, Jongdae. I was benevolent with you, I let you have your voice, you were still a sacred fox… and then you fell for a human again.”

“Why does it matter?” - Jongdae asked getting angrier by every minute. “Why does it matter? All of that happened in the span of centuries, how did you know? Have you been looking after me?”

“I’ll always look after you, my son.” - she said approaching Jongdae.

“No! I refuse to be called your son!” - Jongdae moved further from her. “Take away my tails, my fangs, my claws, and my voice, if that’s what makes me your son I don’t want it! Benevolent? To whom? You were evil, to the humans in Seom, to me.” 

“And what will you do without me? Oh, Mighty Guardian of Seom, you are powerless If I want it. You are nothing without my love.” - Jongdae’s mother changed drastically, her heavenly aura was now dark and twisted. Jongdae remembers a time where he did everything he could to have her approval, where he did everything he could to be her pride, his wonderful son. The second brightest star in heaven, of course, after her. He really looked up to her, she was his mother, a goddess, perfect in every sense. But now, it just looked pitiful, corrupted. 

“That’s not love, mother.” - Jongdae said. “You are corrupted by your own power, but... I forgive you.” - Jongdae felt surprised by his own words. But if he had learned something from Minseok during this time is to try the optimistic approach. Jongdae no longer had time to be resentful.

“You? Forgive me? You have nothing to forgive me for, ungrateful child!” 

“It doesn’t matter anymore” - Jongdae said. Any other time he would have feared an encounter with his mother like this one, but right now he won’t hesitate on speaking his mind. “I’ll have my marble back soon, Minseok will be back soon. That’s why I am here, right? To keep me away from him” - Jongdae approached his mother. “Because you know that as soon as he is back you won’t be able to control me anymore. Because you can’t harm me anymore, this is probably the last time you can summon me here and you know it. A human is breaking your curse, the biggest exhibition of your power with his bare hands. Minseok is shielding me, and you’ve never liked when others took things from you.”

His mother tried to grab him by the neck, red eyes bathed in anger and a pitch-black shadow emerging from her figure, but as if her hands weren’t tangible objects they couldn’t grasp Jongade’s neck.

“He must be close.” - Jongdae chuckled, looking at the perplexed figure of his mother that looked at her hands. This was probably the first time that something didn’t go her way. And it won’t be the last. With Minseok shielding him he won’t ever come back here. “Thanks for giving me voice back. So long, mother.”

Jongdae heard one last yell coming from the twisted and creepy version of his mother in front of him. Maybe she had been like that all this time and Jongdae simply refused to acknowledge that fact, but in any case, he and Seom were free from her. Forever.

A thousand waves of electricity roamed across Jongdae’s body while his consciousness came back to him. The magic he had lost was coming back to him in the form of thunder and heat flooding him. He didn’t realize until now of how cold his skin had been all this time. He felt a sting on his last tail, the fur on his ears rigid. Everything hurt, but Jongdae thought that it was probably a natural thing: one can’t grow nine tails without a little pain. When the fox opened his eyes he found Minseok panting right in front of him. His clothes and hair were still soaked and he was wearing some sort of golden armor. The orange and purple lights of the upcoming sunset fit him greatly, even with that worried expression. But it didn’t matter. None of those things mattered now. 

Jongdae raised up his torso just enough to kiss Minseok, to the human’s surprise that kissed him back with a wide smile. When they broke the kiss, Jongdae had a second to look at Minseok properly, his hair sticking to his forehead and the widest gummy smile on his face.

“My human, my Sun” - Jongdae muttered only for Minseok to hear. “You saved me, and Seom.”

“Jongdae! Your voice!” - MInseok exclaimed, delighted with the idea of being able to hear that melodious voice again.

“I know” - Jongdae chuckled. “It was a goodbye gift”

“A goodbye gift?”

“It doesn’t matter now. Ready to live under the sun?” - Jongdae asked on the verge of crying from pure joy.

“Of course” - Minseok nodded, leaving another peck into Jongdae’s smile.

Just as Chanyeol had promised, as soon as he saw no clouds in the sky, and that the rain had stopped, he flew directly to the shore. Minseok had forgotten about that promise, and when he saw a giant red dragon landing a few meters away from them he couldn’t help himself but yelp a little. When he saw Baekhyun - and Yixing with the sickest expression - on the back of said dragon claiming to be the first Dragon Knight, the sudden shock vanished.

The hugs, cries, and waves of laughter that came right after were the first they had under the sunlight, a memory they would never forget. When both humans stopped watching the colors of the sunset - the first they’ve ever seen - Minseok took a moment to thank Junmyeon for his help, without him he would have died underwater, even Sehun thanked him much to Junmyeon’s delight even if he didn’t want to show it yet.  Minseok offered Junmyeon and Jongin to join them. Hell, the human was tired from all the excitement and whirlpools, but he was sure that none of his friends would want to sleep today.

When Junmyeon - and of course Jongin, with the biggest smile - accepted Minseok knew that this wasn’t the last time he was going to meet the mermaid, even if that meant Junmyeon wasting his magic on legs for him, and his brother, or a tail for Minseok.

Minseok’s plan was to go home, enjoy the stroll under the sky without rain or clouds and tell the rest how everything went underwater. Turns out, everyone gathered at his house, aiming to party and drink the whole night in his backyard enjoying the end of an era and the lack of rain, admiring the stars they had only see on maps.

Junmyeon and Jongin did the whole telling part, only relying the task on Minseok to tell the part where he entered the ship alone.

Minseok deliberately omitted some details about this part. Everyone had noticed the burning in his hand, Jongdae had been caressing it the whole time knowing what had caused it, while Yixing was already in the making of an ointment to help his skin - but they didn’t need to know what he heard and saw from the marble, the mean words kept repeating in Minseok’s head, luckily for Minseok he had Jongdae’s smile erasing every bad memory one kiss at a time. Jongdae’s heart should be a mystery that only both of them can decipher.

Now that his very longed life under the Sun can finally start, Minseok is unsure of what to do first. He wants to go to the beach and sunbath, to read under a tree in the noon sun, to stroll for hours until the sky turns orange and purple, to stay awake the whole night to see the Moon and the stars and learn their names. Maybe he can’t choose yet, but he is sure that he is going to do them all with Jongdae by his side.

Jongdae, on the other hand, can’t wait to soar Seom’s sky again, to run free and wild with his nine tails and golden fur. Even if he is no longer Seom’s guardian he can’t wait to be himself, to show Minseok his true form and have his slender fingers intertwined in his gold fur. He once was Seom’s guardian and it’s mighty warrior, in a time where no curses where known and monsters threatened life. Now he will have to find a new role under the sunlight, make himself feel again worthy of the title of guardian, but that’s a story for another day. 

Drop by drop a river is made, without hurry, so, for now, Jongdae has to teach Minseok how a sunrise looks like.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story of mine, since you are here a kudo and a comment would be greatly appreciated!


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